


Don't Forget - Sans x Gaster (Human AU)

by CrimsonFandomTrash



Series: Humantale Sanster Shenanigans [3]
Category: Alternate Universe - Humantale - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Accidental Death, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Humantale, Big Brother Sans, BoyxBoy, Child Undyne, Cinnamon Roll Papyrus, Depression, First Time, Freeform, Gaster Needs a Hug, Good W. D. Gaster, Grillby's, Human AU, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Minor Asgore Dreemurr/Toriel, Papyrus Knows More Than He Lets On, Pre-Accident W. D. Gaster, Pre-Undertale, Pre-Undertale Pacifist Route, Pre-incident Gaster, Sans - Freeform, Sans Has Issues, Sans Needs A Hug, Sans Remembers Resets, Sans x Gaster, Sanster, Science Boyfriends, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, So many tags, Suicidal Thoughts, Trans Mettaton, Undertail, W. D. Gaster is not related to Skelebros, Young Papyrus, Younger Brother Papyrus, big sister Undyne, bottom sans/top gaster, gaster x sans, humantale, she's not really their sister but she's kinda like Pap's big sister, shut up felix, undertale - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2018-11-18 02:59:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 38
Words: 83,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11282367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrimsonFandomTrash/pseuds/CrimsonFandomTrash
Summary: This is a human AU. Humans are trapped Underground, Frisk, Chara and the other fallen are monsters. Sans and Gaster aren't related, and Chara and Asriel are still alive.Sans is a young adult who needs a job, and Gaster is the one to give him one. At first, Sans comes off as lazy, uncaring, and unreliable, but soon the scientist learns that there is more to him than meets the eye.Meeting Arc - Chapter One - ThirteenMourning Arc - Chapter Fourteen - SixteenDevelopment Arc - Chapter Seventeen - ThirtyThe Void - Chapter Thirty-One - Epilogue





	1. Chapter One - The Assistant

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A HUMAN AU. Please refrain from commenting stuff like "They're skeletons they don't have *insert body part skeletons don't have here*". Yes. I'm well aware skeletons don't have that. This is a human AU. Anyone who was a human in Undertale (Frisk and the other fallen, Chara) is a monster and anyone who was a monster is a human. It's species swapped.
> 
> If you're curious as to Sans and Gaster's designs, I will leave a link to where you can find a post with their designs. Thanks for reading!
> 
> \- Felix  
> https://crimsonfantrash.tumblr.com/post/162170174090/i-doodled-my-human-sans-and-gaster-designs-for

Despite the fact that the Royal Scientist had been expecting it, the sudden knock on the lab door had him falling out of his seat, and knocking his cup of coffee off the desk with his elbow on the way down. Good thing he had a spare lab coat. Grabbing it from the coat rack, he slipped the clean garment on, cursing himself internally. "The door is open!" He yelled. The door opened, and someone stuck their head in as Gaster looked over.

The guy couldn't have been much older than sixteen or seventeen, or he was just a really short guy. He looked to be about five feet tall. Blinking once he noticed he was staring, Gaster waited for the other to introduce himself. He looked awfully shy. "Um, hi." The other male said.

"Hello." The scientist replied, fixing his lab coat before walking over to him. He had to crane his neck down to look at him.

"Uh, my name is Sans." The other said. "I'm here to ask about the position." He pointed towards the door. There'd been a sign; 'Now Hiring, Lab Assistant Needed' that Asgore had hung. 'Dr. Gaster, you can't just sit in here alone all day.' The King had said. No matter how much he argued, Gaster couldn't quite seem to win, and that was why he had expected someone to knock on the door.

The scientist raised an eyebrow. "How old are you?"

"I just turned eighteen in December, sir," Sans answered. "I know, I don't look it."

Gaster thinned his lips into a line after the initial shock was over. "Do you have any proof of identification?"

Sans dug around in the pockets of his track pants- was he wearing slippers? Gaster frowned. Thanks, Fluffybuns. Now there were bums knocking on his door for a job. Sans pulled out a wallet covered in old stickers that were peeling off at the edges, barely hanging on to the leather. He then pulled out an ID card.

Sans Comic Fontz  
DOB: 12/22/1992  
Sex: Male  
Eyes: Blue  
Height: 5'2"  
Issued: 01/09/2011  
Expires: 01/09/2015

A picture of the male in front of him was on the card, and underneath his picture read "ORGAN DONOR" in capital letters. The story checked out... "Alright. Follow me."

The scientist started walking towards his desk and Sans followed behind him, stopping in his tracks when the taller male had done so. Gaster dug through papers on his desk, finding a job application and a pen, before spinning on his heel and handing both to the shorter male. "I just fill this out?"

"Yes. You may use the desk over there." Gaster replied, pointing to a desk in the corner. Sans nodded, walking over and sitting, silently filling the application out.

The scientist sat at his desk, sorting papers and folders. He'd been at it a nice half hour before he felt a tap on his shoulder, and had a paper and pen basically shoved in his face. "Finished."

Gaster gave Sans a look before reading over the application. Full name, date of birth, work history... He looked at Sans again. "You left a lot of information blank, Mr. Fontz."

Sans seemed to still as if that was a sensitive subject. "Uh, no one ever gave me that information."

"Can't you ask your family?" The scientist asked.

"I don't really have any family. It's just me and my little brother. Been like that for twelve years."

Gaster paused. "Did you finish school?"

Sans shook his head. "Never went."

"What makes you think you're qualified to do this job?" Gaster asked, a bit impatient now.

"Well, I learned AP Calculus when I was four years old, and I've read a lot of books about astronomy, chemistry, quantum physics, and I've kept up to date on the notes that you've posted on your blog about the Core."

Gaster blinked. "Really?" Sans nodded. "Hm... I'll need you to sign a waiver, then."

"What's a waiver?" He asked.

"It's a document that states that you are responsible for any injuries or illnesses you might..." He snapped his fingers, looking for the right word. "that you might... Garner...? Sure. Garner. Injuries or illnesses you might garner while performing your job. I can't really hire you, otherwise, because of all this missing information." He flipped through the application. At least the guy had an emergency contact and an address... Otherwise, he probably wouldn't be able to hire him whatsoever. Not that he even understood why he was hiring him. Suppose he just wanted to get this over with so that Asgore would hop off.

Sans nodded, almost erratically. "Yeah, that's fine, I'll take responsibility for that."

Sorting through more papers, the scientist found a waver, Sans signed it, and Gaster put it and the application in a file folder, and marked it 'Sans'. "You work Mondays through Thursdays, eight in the morning till five in the afternoon. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off. When can you start?"

Looking at the clock quickly, and making a quick mental note that today was Wednesday and it was already four in the afternoon, Sans quickly came up with an answer. "Monday would work."

"Monday it is, then," Gaster replied. He stood, and held his hand out. Sans shook it.

"Thank you, Dr. Gaster, sir."

"Please, just call me Gaster," Gaster said. They quit shaking hands, and Gaster wrote up Sans' schedule for him before sending him on his way.

4:30 pm. The scientist poured himself coffee, sitting in his chair and leaning back as he regret his decisions leading up to now.

~~~~~~~~~~

The door creaked open, and Papyrus could hear it from his room. "Marco!" He screamed.

"Polo!" He heard back. Sans was home! He stood and ran out his room, and down the stairs before hug attacking his older brother.

"Sans! You're home!"

"Sure am, kiddo," Sans replied, grinning and ruffling his younger brother's fluffy hair. "Did ya miss me, Freckles?"

"Yeah!" Papyrus replied. He pulled away from hugging Sans, hopping up and down. Sans chuckled.

"How was school?" Sans asked.

"Good! I was on green all day, cuz I was a good boy. Ms. Mary gave me a cookie and a juice box." Papyrus answered.

"Did you turn in your homework from last night?" Sans asked. Papyrus nodded. "Did you do your homework for today?"

"No homework today. We don't get homework on days we get pop quizzes. I got a ninety-nine percent on mine. I hung it on the fridge." Papyrus explained with a grin.

"Alright, nice goin' Freckles," Sans said, holding his hand up for a high five. Papyrus high-fived him and giggled.

"What did you do today, brother?" He asked. Sans hung his jacket, rolling his shirt sleeves down.

"Got a job. I'm gonna be the assistant of the Royal Scientist." He bragged. Papyrus gasped.

"Wowie, brother, that sounds so cool and important!" He exclaimed.

"Heh, yeah, I guess so. I start on Monday. I can walk you to school, then go to work. I get off at five, so you might be home alone for a little while after school. Think you can manage?"

"Uh huh. I'll just have Undyne come over and play with me. Hopefully a game with less punching, though."

Sans shook his head, kicking his slippers off and shoving them to the side with his foot. "We can only hope with less punching." He flopped onto the couch.

~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as he got into the door, the scientist kicked his shoes off, loosened his tie, and unbuttoned his shirt. Jeez, what a day. He flopped onto his couch, enjoying the silence.

Monday... Monday was going to be interesting.


	2. Chapter Two - First Day on the Job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans is The Legendary Fart Master that's all you need to know

Monday had rolled around much sooner than anyone had anticipated. Much to Gaster's dismay, the weekend just wasn't long enough. He got to the lab much before his shift was supposed to start, out of lack of anything better to do. A cup of hot coffee on the corner of his desk, a mountain of paperwork and too much free time could drive a person to go to work at six in the morning when they didn't start until eight.

The door opened at seven forty-five, and Gaster turned his head to see his new assistant early for his first day. He frowned slightly. Early on the first day... Hm...

"Uh, hi," Sans said. His voice echoed through the room. "I'm a bit early. I hope there's no problem with that."

"No, not at all. I hadn't expected you to be early, but there isn't any issue with it." The Royal Scientist replied. "Come over here, we're going to talk about the expectations and rules."

Sans closed the door and walked over, standing beside his new boss' desk. "So, what do I do?"

"Your first task is to refill my coffee mug." The other replied. He tapped the mug with his index finger. "There's a coffee pot in the break room."

Sans frowned but shook the expression. Wouldn't wanna get fired the first day, and fifteen minutes before he was even supposed to start, no less. "Got ya, boss. How do you like your coffee?"

"Three sugar, two cream," Gaster replied, wrapped up in his paperwork still. Sans took the mug by the handle, and like a good little go-for went into the room labeled 'Break Room'. A few minutes later, Gaster had a cup of coffee on his desk again.

"There ya go." Sans said. Gaster looked up at him, and Sans just stared back.

"Three sugar, two cream?"

"Three sugar, two cream." Sans confirmed. "What do I do now, Doc?"

Gaster cringed internally at the broken English. "We're going to talk about a uniform."

"What the heck is a uniform?" Sans asked. Gaster wanted to hang himself.

"Specific clothes you have to wear for a job. Today, your street clothes are fine. It's the first day, and you are... Apparently misinformed about uniforms." Gaster explained. His assistant made a face of understanding. "The uniform is a straight color button down shirt, a tie, black or khaki slacks, and dress shoes. Think you can manage to get things like that in your closet by next Monday?"

"What's the female uniform like?"

If ever there was a question that absolutely boggled Gaster's mind, that would be it. "... Several questions. Firstly; do you see anyone here who is female?"

"No. We're the only ones here." Sans replied.

"The janitor is a woman, but that's about it. She doesn't do the same job as us. Second question, why do you care about the female uniform?"

"Was just curious..." Sans muttered. Gaster internally facepalmed. Right... This guy was a piece of work.

"To answer your absolutely confusing question, if a woman were to work here, the uniform would probably be the same. Maybe minus the tie."

"What about a skirt-"

"Save all questions like that for after nine A.M, please, and thank you." He pointed to the desk in the corner of the room. "Please move that desk over here, Mr. Fontz."

"You can just call me Sans. Mr. Fontz is too formal." Sans replied.

"Move the desk, Mr. Fontz." Gaster repeated. Sans moved the desk closer, almost directly next to Gaster's.

"What now?" He asked.

"Sit."

Sans sat. "What now?"

"Keep doing that."

Sans frowned. "Is that all I'm gonna do all day?"

"Probably. That's mostly the job."

He frowned deeply. "Why am I getting paid to sit?"

"Asgore insisted I have someone around here to socialize with. I told him that I wasn't a very social person, but he didn't exactly listen." The scientist leaned back in his chair.

"Well, can we do science stuff?" Sans asked. Gaster was becoming very impatient.

"Later, Mr. Fontz." He answered.

An hour of silence passed before something made contact with the side of Gaster's head and landed on his desk. A paper airplane... He unfolded it. Written in red pen was the words 'i'm bored let's do something'. He glared at his assistant, who shrugged. Gaster crumpled the paper up, throwing it towards the trashcan, it bouncing off the rim and rolling on the floor before Gaster fixed his glasses and went back to his work. "Psssst." He glared at Sans, his hair covering his annoyed expression. He glanced back at his work. "Psssssssst. Gaaaaster."

"Please be quiet so that I can concentrate, Mr. Fontz." Gaster said. Another paper airplane was thrown at him. He glared at his assistant again, making sure that Sans had seen his annoyance. "Please stop that so that I can concentrate."

Sans folded his arms, blowing his hair out of his face. Gaster unfolded the plane. Written in red pen was 'i wanna actually do stuff, dude'. "This isn't a very challenging job."

"You want challenging? Fine, I'll give you challenging. Make sure you don't have a dull moment at all today." The scientist stood and returned a few moments later with... A cube. It had different colors on it. He mixed it up a bit before slamming it onto Sans' desk. "Solve that."

Sans picked the cube up. "The hell is this thing?"

"An intelligence test. Get all of the colors on the same side as the cubes with that color. Match it."

"So, like, one side all red, one side all green-"

"Yes."

"Okay."

Gaster sat at his desk. Five minutes later, there was a tap on his shoulder. He looked over, eyes widening. "How-"

"Solved it." Sans interrupted. "That was easy. Gimme something challenging."

Gaster muttered under his breath. "I've had just about enough, Mr. Fontz." He said. "I don't think you're cut out for this."

"What? I solved the cube. Isn't that what you wanted?" Sans asked.

"You aren't very mature." Gaster replied. "If I really need to hire someone because of Asgore's insistence that I can't do this alone, despite having done it alone since I was sixteen years old, an assistant that could show a little decorum, and engage in intelligent conversation would be appreciated. You asked me about the female uniform, despite there being no females here, and then proceeded to throw paper airplanes at my head...!"

The Royal Scientist was turning red in the face, and Sans looked a bit hurt. "Alright, I'm sorry..." The smaller male replied. "I'm not used to... Doing nothing, and then getting paid. I've always had to work for it. I'm just kinda... Nervous, and a bit confused."

Gaster relaxed in his seat. Right, first day jitters... "Please, get me more coffee."

Sans stood from his seat and was back with a fresh cup of coffee within minutes. Gaster sipped. His assistant had remembered how he liked his coffee... Which wasn't much, but it showed that he retained memory pretty well. "Um... Could we do science stuff?"

Gaster put the mug down. "Yeah. Sure. Why the hell not? That's what we're getting paid to do."

~~~~~~~~~~

Punch out time, five P.M. The taller male had locked the doors after they'd exited the building, looking at his assistant. "You did... Okay work today. Less airplane crashes from now on, please."

Sans laughed a little. "Sure thing, Doc."

"Please, it's Gaster."

"Well, then, call me Sans."

Gaster paused. "Fine. Sans it is."

Sans grinned. "Could also call me The Legendary Fart Master."

"I am not calling you that." The Royal Scientist protested. "You're lucky I'm even calling you Sans. I don't do first names."

"Yeah, you do. You called the King 'Asgore' earlier. That's his first name." Sans said. Gaster flushed pink with embarrassment.

"I've personally known Asgore for about seven years before his child was even born. We're on a first name basis. I have known you a few hours. It's different."

Sans pulled his phone out. "We should exchange phone numbers."

"Why on Earth should we do that?" Gaster asked.

"So you can know me for more hours without having a paper airplane thrown at ya."

Gaster stood there for a moment. It seemed his co-worker wanted to be friendly... "Okay. Sure." He pulled his phone out, they exchanged numbers, and then they both shoved their phones in their pockets.

"See ya tomorrow." Sans said.

"See you tomorrow."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Marco!" Sans yelled as he got in.

"Poooolooooo!!" Papyrus yelled back.

"Nerd's home!!" Sans heard Undyne yell. He mentally prepared himself for the hyper pre-teen and teen as they ran down the steps.

"Can we have money?" Papyrus asked. Wow, what a great question to walk in to. Not 'how was work, Sans,' or 'how are you, Sans,'. 'Can we have money?'. Undyne knocked him on the head.

"That's not how it's done, Papyrus! He's more likely to give us money if he's in a good mood! Make him smile, then rob him!!"

Sans raised an eyebrow. This sure was interesting to watch. "Oh! Okay, Undyne!" Papyrus said. She facepalmed as he looked back up to Sans. "Brother, I love you lots! Can we have money?"

"What for, and how much?"

"Glow sticks, and twenty G." Papyrus replied. Sans pulled out his wallet.

"You are killing me, smalls. I bought you guys glow sticks last week." He handed Undyne the money as Papyrus hopped up and down.

"I love glow sticks almost as much as I love you, brother."

"We're gonna get 'em tomorrow after Paps gets out of school." Undyne said. Sans had hung his hoodie up and kicked his slippers off.

"Fine by me." He plopped on the couch, leaning back. It wasn't a very comfortable couch... But it beat standing or sitting on the floor.

His phone started ringing, and he picked up. "Hello?"

Silence on the other end for a moment. "I have called to confirm that this is the right number."

"Well, who were ya trying to call?" Sans asked.

"The Legendary Fart Master."

Sans blinked and then smiled. "Yeah, this is him."

"Okay." Gaster said. "See you tomorrow at work, Sans."

"See ya, Gaster."

Click. The Royal Scientist stared at the screen for a few moments. Maybe Sans was the kind of person he could actually be friends with. Lord knows he didn't have many of those to begin with...


	3. Chapter Three - Phone Calls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was kind of challenging to write. I just couldn't find the words for this one. Had to walk away from it a few times.
> 
> I'm hoping to update this at least once a week, but if no one reads it, I'm not so sure that would be the best use of my time. I'm working on a few things right now, so we'll see.
> 
> In this chapter, Sans and Gaster push off the inevitable of actually learning stuff about each other like normal people who talk to each other, because they're asocial weebs.

Sans came into the lab at around seven fifty in the morning, much to Gaster's surprise. Early, his first two days? This was beginning to become too good to be true.

"Three sugar, two cream?" Gaster asked when Sans had set the mug of hot coffee on his desk.

"Three sugar, two cream." Sans confirmed. Gaster nodded, sipping his coffee. Sans had made it perfectly, just like yesterday. He could get used to having Sans around. His co worker yawned before going to his desk. "What are we doing today?"

"I'm not sure yet. Asgore usually comes by and tells me what I'm supposed to be doing. I suppose the goal is the same as always, so he saw no use." Gaster replied, setting the mug of coffee down and digging through papers on his messy desk.

"What's the goal?" Sans asked. Gaster looked at his assistant.

"To get to the surface." He answered. "The only way we can do it is if we have seven monster souls, but the King's child is a monster. He would never be able to take the soul of an innocent monster. I- we have to find some other way out."

Sans seemed to make an uncomfortable face. "What if we get there, and it sucks?"

"We have to try." Gaster replied. "No matter what, we have to try."

Sans nodded a little, focusing his attention to his desk. Huh. He had papers on it. Didn't have those yesterday. "I mean, it doesn't appeal to me personally, but okay."

Gaster sipped his coffee, closing his eyes. "Today, we're going to work on a machine I've been working on sporadically."

"What does it do?" Sans asked. Gaster leaned back in his chair.

"It erases any memory you want to forget." Gaster explained. "I've almost finished it. I just need a few more parts."

"Sounds a little too good to be true, dude." Sans replied skeptically. 

"Anything is possible with the proper knowledge and materials to make it a reality." Gaster replied. "It has to work."

"What if it doesn't?" 

"You ask too many questions." He chuckled.

Once they had started working on it, Sans sat on the sidelines beside the toolbox, passing Gaster whatever he had needed as they talked. "What do you think the surface is like?"

"Spacious, surely. Much better than this cramped little cave we live in, I would assume. Plants, animals... The kinds you've seen in books. And monsters. Probably loads of them."

"How many monster do you think there are?"

"There isn't any real way of knowing, but I'm sure if you measured the diameter of the Earth- I read in a book from the surface that it's seven thousand, nine hundred seventeen and a half miles- and then measure the amount of land there is, you could estimate about how many monsters there are up there. My guess is a few billion."

Sans blinked. "You know too much, dude."

"Screwdriver." The scientist said, holding his hand out. Sans passed him the screwdriver, resting his chin in his hand as he blew hair out of his face. "You need a haircut."

"I like it this way. It hides my face." Sans replied.

"Why would you want to hide your face?" Gaster asked. He was puzzled.

"Because I'm ugly." Sans answered.

"No, you're not." Gaster objected. Sans frowned a bit. "I saw your picture on your ID, your hair is barely covering your face in it. You're not ugly. You look fine."

"I dunno, man. I'm kinda ugly." Sans said. "Doesn't matter what you say, I'm ugly."

The scientist sighed. "Wrench."

~~~~~~~~~~

Gaster closed the door behind him, leaning against it as he sighed. What a busy day... He loosened his tie, and kicked off his shoes before heading upstairs to his study. He sat at the desk, leaning back in his chair. The only sound in the room was his breathing and the tick of an old grandfather clock. A picture frame that sat on the desk burned holes into his soul. He turned it around. Not today.

Tick, tock, tick, tock. The clock wouldn't shut up, and Gaster was painfully aware of every second that went by. His mind screamed at him to get up. To do something. With haste, he pulled his phone out and scrolled through his contact list.

Asgore  
Sans  
Toriel

Really...? He only knew three people...? Oh, well... His finger hesitated over Sans' name, before he pressed it. He held the phone up to his ear, biting his nails. It rang a few times before there was the sound of someone picking up. "Sup?" Sans' voice came over the line. Thank God.

"I, uh..." Gaster swallowed the lump forming in his throat. "Wanted to call to say hi." 

"Uh, we just saw each other not even twenty minutes ago, Gast." Sans said. Gaster could basically hear the other male's confusion as to why his boss would call him not even twenty minutes later. "But, hi."

"Hi." Gaster said. And then the call became silent.

"I'm still walking home, would it be okay if I called you back when I start making dinner?"

"Yes, of course, that is fine." Gaster replied. He tried to shove all the anxiousness in his voice down. "I will talk to you later."

"Bye, Gaster."

"Bye." 

Click. The call ended almost as soon as it had been started. Gaster checked the call log. He had made more calls to his co worker in the past two days than he had made to Asgore last week. Three calls with Sans verses one with Asgore. The scientist frowned. This was very strange...

~~~~~~~~~~

He kicked his shoes off (an old pair of sneakers he had pulled out of the closet once he realized wearing slippers to work wasn't all that good of an idea) and flopped onto the couch. He could hear his little brother and Undyne upstairs, probably playing with Pap's action figures and much too busy to realize the man of the house was home.

When he finally stood from the lumpy, uncomfortable couch, he walked into the kitchen. May as well start on dinner... He pulled a box of mac and cheese out of the cupboard. He didn't even need to read the directions to know exactly what he was doing. Once the pasta was in the pot, and the stove was hard at work, bringing the water to a boil, Sans pulled his cell phone out, and called Gaster back. It barely had a chance to do half a ring before the other male picked the phone up. "Hey." Sans said. He leaned against the wall.

"Hello." Gaster replied. Sans couldn't quite place the vibes the slightly older male was giving off, but he could tell his boss wasn't exactly happy, just from the tone of his voice, and the conversations they'd had throughout the day. He chose to ignore it, however. It wasn't his business, and he doubted Gaster was the type to open up like that to people who were basically strangers. 

"What's up, dude?" Ah, jeez, had he really just asked one of the most brilliant people in the Underground 'what's up, dude?'? How embarrassing... Little too late to take it back, however, so he bit his tongue as his cheeks flushed pink, and prayed that Gaster wouldn't think he was weird, or something.

Thankfully, Gaster had ignored the informality of that sentence. "I'm just a bit bored, honestly." He didn't sound bored. He sounded borderline upset. Then again, he looked like the type who would attend a wedding wearing all black, or attend a funeral and be envious, wishing it was him who was getting lowered six feet under. "What, uh, what are you up to?"

The fact that his co worker was interested in what he was doing was a bit strange to Sans. They were barely even friends yet, and here they were, talking on the phone as if they had known each other for much longer than they actually had. "I'm making dinner. Mac and cheese."

Gaster felt everything in him scream to end the conversation and hang up, before he embarrassed himself, but, for whatever reason, he continued. "I'm just ordering a pizza. I don't feel like cooking tonight." 

"I've never had pizza before." Sans said. The scientist could hear him laugh nervously. "Never really been financially well off enough to have pizza. Is it good?"

Gaster nodded, but then reminded himself that Sans couldn't see him. "Yes, I think so. It is my favourite food."

"You struck me more as a fancy food kind of guy. Pizza isn't all that fancy, I don't think." Sans replied.

"Why do I strike you as a fancy food kind of guy?" Gaster asked.

"Well, I dunno. You became the Royal Scientist when I was eleven, and you looked really important, and I'd always thought important people liked fancy things." Sans said. "I suppose it's a weird mindset to have now that I'm an adult, but when I met you last week, you still gave me fancy person vibes."

Gaster opened his mouth to rebuttal, but then remembered he had a wine rack in his kitchen, and was probably going to listen to classical music while eating his pizza and drinking a glass of said wine. That felt very... Snobby. He fixed his glasses and thinned his lips into a line. "Yes, I suppose you're right." Gaster said. He heard loud sounds on Sans' end of the phone.

"Papyrus, come back here!"

"You'll never catch me alive!!"

"Guys, no running and yelling in the house!" Sans had yelled. "Sorry, my brother and his friend are being loud."

"Children are usually very loud." Gaster said.

"NGAAAAAH!! COME BACK HERE!!!"

"NEVEEEERRRR!!!!"

... But not quite that loud. "Guys, I'm on the phone! Keep it down!" Sans yelled. "I think I should hang up, she's got him in a head lock, and this usually doesn't end very well." Sans said. The scientist felt... concerned. He didn't know who to be more concerned about; himself, for associating with Sans, Sans, who had to deal with this, his little brother, who he didn't even know, for being in a headlock, or his brother's friend for putting him in said headlock.

"I have to call the pizza place, anyways." Gaster said. "See you at work tomorrow, Sans."

"See ya."

Click.

"Get off, get off, get off!!" Papyrus yelled, struggling. Sans came in, and broke it up, holding Undyne back.

"Alright, that's enough. Play nicely, or don't play at all." He scolded. Undyne crossed her arms.

"Well, it's not my fault he isn't tough enough." She said. 

"Undyne, play nice with my brother." Sans said. He returned to the kitchen.

The pasta had boiled. He strained the water out with a strainer, put the pasta back in the pot, and added the cheese sauce. He gave a bowl of mac and cheese to his brother and Undyne, before getting a bowl for himself and going up to his room. He sighed before eating. Peace and quiet...

As soon as Gaster's pizza had arrived, he paid the delivery person, and set the box on the table. Maybe he'd skip on the classical music part and just skip to the wine... He was feeling rather self conscious now after that conversation with Sans. As the scientist ate his dinner, he kept wondering what had possessed him to make conversation with his co worker in the first place. He sipped his wine. He supposed... Sans was just very interesting, compared to his boring life. Yes, that must have been it.


	4. Chapter Four - Day Off Hangout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans spends his first day off with Gaster, and a new friendship blossoms.

Sans had managed to wake up earlier than usual, despite it being his day off; Friday. Had to go get clothes for his uniform. He got dressed and left the house, going to the nearest place he knew sold clothes; the Snowdin shop, right next to the Inn, which was named 'Snowed Inn'. He had to appreciate the humour around here.

A few pairs of black slacks, a few shirts and a tie or two, and some shoes. Once he was out the store, he checked his wallet. Jeez... Good thing he got paid next Thursday. It was a quite large paycheck, too. He was making twelve G an hour, and he worked nine hours a day. A hundred eight G a day... Four days a week. About four hundred thirty G a week, and he got paid every two weeks. Eight hundred sixty G.

His head started hurting from all the math he was doing, so he decided to stop there. He could have figured out his monthly wage, and could have used that to find out his yearly wage, but it wasn't worth it. He could do that later.

When he had gotten home (which didn't take all that long) he closed the door and set his bags down. The house was quiet. Made sense. Papyrus had school. He'd probably left while Sans had been at the store. He slumped onto the couch. He checked the time on his phone. Eight in the morning... Ugh. At least he had the shopping done. He closed his eyes and soon dozed off.

When he woke back up, he looked around the living room before checking the time again. Noon. Nothing to do... He went into his contacts. His finger hovered over Gaster's name indecisively. No... It was still a tiny bit too early in the day to bother anyone. He went upstairs into his room, and grabbed some clean clothes before going into the bathroom. He set the clothes down on the edge of the sink, looking in the mirror as he blew some hair out of his face.

After one uncomfortable shower later, he got redressed, and dried his hair off. There. Now he looked... Decent enough. Moving his hair out of his face a little, his co worker's words popped into his head. "You need a haircut."

He moved his hair back to where it belonged. It wasn't like his hair should matter to Gaster, anyways... He huffed. He probably should get a haircut, but he wasn't really ready to put his face even more on display for the world to see how hideous and revolting he looked. He exited the bathroom, going downstairs and sitting on the couch.

After flipping through the three channels they had in the Underground, Sans had drawn the conclusion that there wasn't anything on television to watch. He stood and walked groggily into the kitchen, and did the dishes, despite hating doing anything. He checked the time on his phone. One thirty in the afternoon. The day was young, and he had nothing to do. Great. 

His thumb hovered over Gaster's name again. Should he...? Gaster had told him that they worked the same hours, so it wasn't as if Sans would be bothering his co worker. Frowning, Sans pushed the call button and brought the phone up to his ear. Yeah, this would be fine.

The phone rang a few times before Gaster had picked up. The other male cleared his throat. "Hello?"

And there went the courage and came the awkwardness of calling someone you only saw at work on your day off. Sans twirled his hair around his finger nervously. "Uh, hey, G." So far, so good.

"Um, hello, Sans. Why did you call?" Gaster stammered a bit. Jesus, really? "I mean, I obviously don't mind that you called, but I'm curious-"

"Is now not a good time?" Sans asked, feeling slightly bad for having listened to his gut feeling and disturbing Gaster on his day off.

Gaster stammered more, trying to remedy the situation. "N-no, no, it's fine, now is an okay time- in fact, I just finished eating lunch, so the timing is perfect. Because... When people are eating it... It sounds gross over the phone."

Silence for a few moments. "Anyways... I wanted to know if you wanted to maybe hang out with me today? It's fine if you don't wanna, though. It'd probably be pretty boring, cuz I'm not really that exciting of a person." He bit his lip nervously. God, help him...

The scientist blinked. "Oh, uh, sure." He paused. "Um, should I come to your house, or...?"

"I don't really know my way around many parts of the Underground..." Sans replied sheepishly. "I live in Snowdin, just ten or fifteen minutes away from the Ruins. Can you get there?"

"That'll be easy. What house do you live in?" Gaster asked.

"The only house on the main road, Christmas lights outside.". Sans said. 

"I will be there." Gaster replied. Silence. They were really bad at this phone call thing.

"Okay, cool. See you then." Sans said.

"See you then."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Click. Sans covered his flushed face. Good God, that was embarrassing...! What was that poor excuse of human interaction?! He groaned into his hands, sliding down the wall. He wanted to disappear. Gosh, Gaster must think he was weird.

When he finally got over his embarrassment, Sans stood back up. Right. He was fine. Gaster couldn't think too badly of him, could he? He shook his head. Why did he even care so much about what Gaster thought? They weren't even friends yet... Or, at least, he wasn't sure if Gaster considered them friends. Sans supposed he did spend about thirty six hours with this other man so far, so maybe they were friends...? He had no way of knowing. Either way, he was determined to be friends with his co worker at some point, considering he was one of the only people he knew, besides his brother, Undyne, and Grillby.

How bad could this be?

~~~~~~~~~~

There was a knock at the door, and Sans checked the time. Two thirty. It was probably Gaster. He opened the door, and wasn't at all surprised to see the taller man on the other side of the door, hugging himself. Right, Snowdin was cold... "Hey."

"Hello." Gaster replied. He was shaking. Sans stepped to the side, and Gaster walked in, brushing the snowflakes off his trench coat and the top of his head. "I forgot how cold snow was... We don't have weather like this in New Home."

"You live all the way in New Home?" Sans asked. Gaster nodded.

"Yes, I live close to the castle." He replied. Sans was intrigued.

"What is it like there? I've never gone any further than Hotland."

It's... big, and loud, and expensive. Not really the kind of place for me, but, there isn't much I can do about it." Gaster tugged at the sleeves of his trench coat as he looked around the room. There were toys on the floor, a shoe on the step, a rock covered in sprinkles with googly eyes. Definitely an interesting place...

"Oh." Was all Sans replied with. Neither spoke for a moment. "Um, I could give ya a quick tour of the house, if you want."

"Yes, I would like that." Gaster replied.

"Okay. Uh, this is obviously the living room." Sans said. He pointed to the beat up looking couch; it was beige with yellow and purple flowers. "That's usually where I sleep, even though I have a room." He pointed to a doorway. "That's the kitchen."

"Mhm." Gaster hummed.

"And if you follow me up the steps..." Sans trailed off, walking up the steps as the scientist followed. He was careful to avoid tripping on the shoe. There was a doorway at the top of the stairs. Sans pointed to the door. "This is my little brother's room." He kept walking down the hall, and Gaster kept following. "This is my room." Sans said, pointing to another room. There was a door at the end of the hall. Sans opened it. "And this is the bathroom."

"It's a nice place." Gaster said. In all honesty, he thought it was a bit too small, but it seemed to work for Sans, so it was good enough.

"Eh, home is where the heart is." Sans replied. He walked back downstairs, and Gaster followed. Sans checked the time. Two thirty-five. "My brother is gonna be home from school in about forty-five minutes."

~~~~~~~~~~

Gaster had to admit, Scrabble was a fun game. The premise was relatively easy for someone like him who always did the crossword in the newspaper every morning. Hell, he had just finished today's when Sans had called. The door opened, and both Sans and Gaster looked over. A red-head and a tinier kid walked in.

"Brother, I am home from school!" Papyrus looked at the stranger. Whoa. He was tall. "Sans, who is the giant?"

Gaster frowned, and Sans nervously explained. "Uh, bro, this is my co worker."

"Ooooh, so you're the one who gave my big brother a job?" Papyrus asked Gaster.

"Yes, that would be me." Gaster said. He fixed his glasses.

"Thank you!" Papyrus said, grinning. "He needed a job. All he ever does is sit up in his room, making weird noises." 

Undyne started laughing, and Sans flushed pink. "Um, bro, how about you and Undyne go upstairs?"

"Okie dokie!!" Papyrus yelled. He dragged a cackling Undyne upstairs into his room. Sans looked at Gaster, who was also flushed pink. Gaster cleared his throat and fixed his glasses again.

"That was more than I needed to know."

"It really isn't what it sounds like." Sans said. "Not, um... Those kinds of noises."

"Well, then, what kind?"

"I don't really wanna talk about it..." Sans replied. He moved his hair so that it was covering his face more.

Gaster placed a few tiles down on the game board. "Your brother looks just like you."

"You think so?" Sans said.

"Yes, I do." He placed a few more tiles. "You're very lucky to have a sibling. Growing up alone gets very boring."

"Your mother and father never had any other kids?" Sans asked. Gaster seemed to cringe.

"No. I wasn't an only child. Not for the first nine years of my life. My brothers both died in a tragic accident. I survived." Gaster said. He was very quiet. His fingertips rose to trace the scars on his face.

Sans understood he struck a sensitive spot, but he was curious. "Were you the oldest brother?"

"No." Gaster replied. "We were triplets, but I was born last. I was smaller, too." The scientist took his wallet out, and showed Sans a picture. In the picture was a boy with black hair, a blue eye and a green eye in a black tee shirt, and a second boy with medium brown hair and yellow eyes. The third boy was wearing a sweater that went down to his knees. He had dark brown hair, and purple eyes. Gaster pointed to the one with black hair. "This was the oldest. His name was Kozuka."

Sans pointed to the smallest one with purple eyes. "That's you, right?"

"Yes." Gaster said. He pointed to the boy with yellow eyes. "And this was my other brother, Berlin."

"He looks a bit like Pap." Sans said, tilting his head. Gaster looked at the picture. The resemblance between Papyrus and Berlin was... small, but definitely noticeable. "Yes, I suppose he does look like your brother a little." He put the photo back in his wallet. 

"Sorry, if I, uh, hit a soft spot. You must miss your brothers."

"Every day. It's okay, though." He paused. "It's your turn. For the game."

Sans took his turn, and they were both down to two tiles with no extras in the bag, so they called it quits. Gaster had won, and Sans put the game away. The Royal Scientist rubbed his eyes, as he thought to himself, and Sans sat back down. "Are you okay, G?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Gaster fibbed. "I'm a bit worked up, but I will be fine."

"Okay..." Sans said. Gaster fixed his glasses, and cleared his throat again. "Is there anything specific you want to do?"

"Do you have any other board games?"

~~~~~~~~~~

"Checkmate."

"Okay, now you're just showing off." Sans said, showing mock offense and sticking his tongue out.

"Hey, it's not my fault you suck at chess." Gaster replied smugly, smiling. Sans shook his head.

"Alright, get it over with." Sans said. Gaster picked up the permanent marker they had been using throughout the night. Every time someone won, they got to draw whatever they wanted on the other person's body.

"Roll your sleeve up." Gaster said.

"Okay." Sans replied. He rolled his sleeve up. As Gaster went to go draw on his colleague's arm, he noticed cut marks on the other male's wrist. He hesitated for a moment before drawing a dick on Sans' arm. "Pfff, real mature, dude." Sans said.

"You're just jealous that I thought to draw a dick, and you didn't." Gaster said.

"Yeah, okay." Sans said. Gaster capped the marker as Sans checked the time. "Holy shit, it's already ten P.M."

Gaster put the marker down. "That late already?" Sans nodded. He sighed. "I should be getting home. I don't feel like walking home after midnight."

Sans nodded a little. "Today was fun." He said as they both stood. The scientist put on his trench coat and braced himself for the cold Snowdin weather.

"It was." Gaster agreed. "We'll have to do this again some time. I had a good time." He smiled a bit at his co worker. Sans held his hand out for Gaster to shake, and Gaster complied.

"Um, this is a bit of an awkward question, but..." Sans bit his lip. "We're friends, right? I'm kinda new to the whole 'making friends' thing. The closest thing I've ever really had to a friend is my brother, so I have no idea how people determine if they're friends or not."

"I'd say if we aren't yet, we're at least getting there." The Royal Scientist replied. "You are a very interesting individual, Sans."

Sans flushed pink, rubbing the back of his neck. "And you're surprisingly lively for such a serious guy."

"Thank you." Gaster said. Sans walked over to the door, and Gaster followed. Sans held the door open for his guest. 

"See ya later?"

"See you later." Gaster said. He walked out the door, and looked back at Sans, waving a bit and waking away before he heard the door close. He walked briskly, smiling more than he usually did. Yeah... Sans was definitely worth befriending.


	5. Chapter Five - Saturday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans and Gaster bond some more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know it's scientifically possible to fall in love after looking at someone for four seconds? If I'd known that, this wouldn't be a slow burn fanfic.

It was eleven in the morning when Sans finally woke up. He stayed in his pajamas; it was Saturday, so he didn't have to get dressed. After groggily dragging himself through a half-assed morning routine, Sans flopped back on his bed, and closed his eyes. Breathe in... Breathe out.

When he'd been brushing his teeth, he almost didn't recognize himself in the mirror. He dragged his hand down his face at the very thought of it. He was eighteen, but the bags under his eyes, and the frown lines made him look at least ten years older than he actually was. Needless to say, this is why he didn't look in the mirror more often. Sans could hear Papyrus already up for the day, playing with his action figures next door in his room. Sans found that a small smile was tugging at his lips. Right... Life wasn't all that bad.

That being said, his wrists began to itch, and taunt him. He was about to reach for the blade before Papyrus had opened the door. "Morning, lazybones!"

"Oh, mornin', bro." Sans said, slipping the razor back under the mattress as stealthily as he could, as to not trigger any curiosity from Papyrus about what he was doing. "How did you sleep, Freckles?"

"Good, as always." Papyrus replied, almost proudly. 

"That's good." Sans said. He stood up, walking over to his brother before they both walked out the room. Sans closed his door behind him. "I'm gonna go make pancakes for breakfast, you go play with your action figures, alright?" 

Papyrus nodded excitedly, and Sans swore to himself that if his baby brother were a puppy, he'd constantly be wagging his tail with eagerness and excitement for each day. "Okie dokie!" He ran to his room, getting a bit too excited, and slamming the door behind him. Sans shook his head, sighing. Sometimes, he wished he had as much energy as Papyrus.

He dragged himself down the stairs, still tired and barely awake. It was weird. No amount of sleep seemed to help, as if there was a cloud of fatigue perpetually wrapped around him. He yawned. Twelve hours of sleep, and it did nothing. Great.

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

The scientist slammed his hand down on his alarm clock. Nope, too fucking early. Fuck that. He rolled onto his side letting out an annoyed sigh. He wasn't gonna be able to fall back asleep. After lying there for what had to be an extra ten minutes, he finally dragged himself out of bed. A yawn escaped him as he walked to his dresser, and got dressed. He buttoned his shirt up, zipped his pants and buttoned them, tied his shoes, and made his way to his kitchen.

He had made coffee as soon as he had gotten home last night, so that he wouldn't have to make it this morning. Three spoons of sugar, and two spoons of creamer later, the hot, caffeinated drink was making its way down his throat. The burn of the liquid didn't bother him anymore from years of drinking it so soon after it had finished brewing. Most people would have scalded their mouths.

The 'weather' outside was as nice as usual, at least from what he could see out his window. People were rushing from place to place, men, women, children; the community was sure busy on such a nice Saturday morning. He supposed some people didn't have Saturdays off, the children had school friends to visit, and the other people were just enjoying their weekend. He closed the curtain again before checking the time. Eleven forty-five. Almost noon.

He sat down in his study, the picture frame with his brothers' pictures in it still facing away from him. He flipped the frame around again, looking at the picture for a few moments. The conversation he had with Sans about them popped up in his mind. He had waited months after meeting the King to tell him about his dead brothers, and with Sans, he'd only known him for a little over a week. It was confusing. What was it about Sans that made him so special that Gaster, who was usually a very well guarded person, dropped his walls around him after spending barely two days collected time with him in the week that he had known him? Gaster frowned.

His phone rang at around two in the afternoon, and he checked the caller ID. Sans. The Royal Scientist picked up, putting the phone to his ear and clearing his throat. "Hello?"

"Heya." Came Sans' voice over the line. "Are you free today?"

He was in fact free today, but for a few seconds he hesitated to answer. "I don't have any plans today." He answered. His voice shook a little, and he wasn't sure why. He cleared his throat again. 

"Would you like to come over and hang out?" Sans asked.

Had to word this right. "Sure." Simple, to the point. That response would do.

"Alright. See ya soon?"

See you soon." Gaster confirmed.

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

Click.

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

If you asked Gaster how he ended up hiding behind Sans' couch with a toy Nerf gun, and two 'bullets' left, he wouldn't have been able to tell you. All he knew was the small, red-headed child named Undyne had already taken Sans and Papyrus out, and he was about to be next. "Come out here and fight me like a man, nerd!!"

"No, thank you!" Gaster called out. He shot blindly, with no aim to guide him in hitting his target; a five foot tall teenager with too much bravado.

"Missed me, dweeb!" Undyne said before cackling. Gaster peaked his head above the couch for a moment, catching glimpse of his friend and his little brother 'dead' on the floor.

"C'mon, G, you can take her down!" Sans said.

"Brother, dead people don't talk!!" Papyrus said.

"Papyrus, be quiet, man. Dead people don't talk."

Gaster could imagine the facial expression Papyrus had right now as the young boy stammered and then growled, obviously frustrated and defeated. "Both of ya, can it." Undyne said. She shot them both in the forehead and they both swiftly shut up. 

Right, one 'bullet' left. Had to make this one count- Oh, too late. Undyne walked over to the couch and shoved the barrel of the toy gun down the space Gaster was hiding in and popped him right between the eyes. "Looks like she got ya, Gast." Sans chimed in.

Undyne grinned toothily.  "Let's play again, I like this game."

"I'm too tired to keep playing, kid." Sans said. Papyrus sat up.

"We can go play with guns by ourselves, Undyne!!" He offered.

"Alright, but don't cry when I kick your butt!" Undyne exclaimed.

The kids ran upstairs, and Gaster came out from behind the couch, sitting next to Sans, who looked tired. "Man, I'm beat."

Gaster leaned back. "She sure has a lot of energy." He said. He checked the time. Only eight P.M. He thought it would have been later.

"They both do. They're probably gonna both have a lot of energy well into adult life. Lucky them."

"What do you mean, 'lucky them'?" Gaster asked.

"I'm eighteen, and I feel like I'm thirty." Sans chuckled. "I've been working to support myself and my brother for the past twelve years, basically since he was a newborn. I guess it's all starting to add up."

Gaster felt of pang of empathy in his chest, but suppressed the feeling before it could linger and ruin his mood entirely. "I am really curious... Where are your parents?" He asked.

Sans shrugged. "I have no idea. I can't remember who they were, what happened to them, their names... As if they never even existed." He sighed. "It's just been me and Paps for as long as I can remember. I was lucky to have even remembered what I did. Our names, birthdays. My furthest memory is waking up on the edge of the forest, with Papyrus bundled up in a blanket in my arms. Trudging through a snow storm until I reached this town..."

Gaster kept his eyes trained on Sans' expression as his younger friend trailed off his sentence. It was a bit hard to read Sans with his hair covering his other eye the way it did, and the fact that he didn't seem like the open book type of person. Sans had caught Gaster staring, and looked at him with a confused expression, before Gaster turned his attention to a different area of the room. "It sounds like you had a rough childhood."

"I never really had a childhood."

As much as the scientist wanted to say something to make Sans feel better, he felt like that kind of blind optimism would spite him, and even turn him into a bawling mess in front of the other. "I can see where you're coming from."

Sans suddenly had a smile on his face. "Yeah, but I got used to it, so it's all whatever. I'm bored. Wanna watch a movie?"

Gaster blinked. What a sudden change of attitude... "Uh, yeah, a movie sounds cool."

The younger male stood up and walked over to the television before popping a tape in the VCR and rewinding the movie. Gaster couldn't shake the feeling that Sans was bothered by that subject, and had been faking that smile. As the movie played, Gaster found his mind wandering. The movie didn't look that interesting, anyways...

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

By the time the movie had ended, it was decided that it was much too late for Gaster to walk home. When Sans had offered the taller male his bed, Gaster denied and said he would be fine on the couch. "Are you sure? That couch is really uncomfortable."

"Even more reason for me to sleep on the couch while you stay in your bed." Gaster replied.

"Yeah, but, you're the guest. Aren't guests usually supposed to get special treatment?" Sans asked. Gaster waved him off dismissively.

"I'll be fine, really." Gaster insisted.

"Okay, well, I'm at least gonna get you a spare blanket and some pillows." Sans said.

Sans turned and went up the stairs whilst Gaster tried to make himself comfortable. Jeez, he wasn't lying about it being uncomfortable. This was gonna be like that time he had fallen asleep at his desk in the lab after pulling more hours than usual, due to the winter holidays putting him behind schedule. Asgore had of course scolded him for not taking care of himself, and going home to sleep. This couch was probably gonna put a bigger knot in his back and neck than the desk had.

Sans returned with pillows and blankets, and set them on the end of the couch. "If you need a drink, there's cups in the cabinet above the sink. You remember where the bathroom is, right?"

"End of the hall on the second floor, next to your room." Gaster said.

"Good night, Gaster." 

"Good night, Sans." 

Sans went back up the stairs, and Gaster got himself re-situated on the couch. He took his glasses off, setting them on the arm of the couch before closing his eyes, and eventually drifting to sleep.

Sans flopped back on his bed. He couldn't really place what it was exactly that he was feeling, and he wasn't so sure he wanted to know. All he knew was, for once in his life, he at least wasn't going to bed miserable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was kind of fun to write tbh.
> 
> If you draw any fan art, it can be sent to me on Tumblr, DeviantArt, or If you wanna talk, feel free to message me. I don't really have anything to do so I'll probably answer your message.
> 
> \- Felix


	6. Chapter Six - Sunday and Monday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note that chapters are gonna be slow in the making, probably until the end of July. I'm visiting my home town right now, so I don't get on Wattpad/AO3/Tumblr very much. I think this is the most amount of time I've written this week alone.
> 
> If you have fanart, feel free to send it to me on DeviantArt, Tumblr, Instagram, Kik, or Facebook. Feel free to inbox me and ask me for my username on the specific site/app of your choice.

Sunday morning. The scientist awoke to the loud sounds of Papyrus and Undyne playing upstairs, and the sound of sizzling from a pan in the kitchen. 

"I'm gonna get you, Papy!!" Undyne yelled.

"No, you're not!!!" Papyrus yelled back louder, giggling. He could hear their feet pounding against the floor as they ran.

He sat up, putting his hand on the back of his neck and rubbing the sore area. Sans hadn't been kidding when he said the couch was uncomfortable. Gaster picked his glasses up, and put them on, looking into the kitchen. Sans was making breakfast, it seemed. The younger male didn't look too pleased to be awake, and he was only wearing an over sized tee shirt and boxers that went down to his knees. 

"Oh, hey, you're awake!" Papyrus yelled, which surprised the scientist, and made him roll off the couch, landing on the floor and making an 'oof' sound on the way down. Sans looked over as Papyrus giggled and went to help Gaster up. 

As soon as Gaster was back on the couch, he looked over to Sans again, who stared at the scientist curiously. He smiled a little. "Nice bedhead."

Gaster's cheeks flushed pink. Right, his hair always had been hell after sleeping. This sleepover thing was a bad idea, but it was already too late. He fixed his glasses. "Good morning."

"Technically, afternoon." Sans replied. He went back to cooking. "Do you like pancakes?"

"Pancakes are okay. I'm not very picky."  He replied. He rolled his neck, trying to get rid of the muscle ache he had developed. "What time is it?"

"Around noon." Sans answered. He looked over at Gaster, who stared at him. He stared back for a moment before going back to cooking again.

The scientist took in his surroundings, since he hadn't really had the chance to look around the other times he'd been here. It occurred to him that people usually didn't sleep at their co-workers' houses after the other had only been hired for a week. People didn't usually sleep on their employee's couch to begin with. This friendship thing was shaping up to be an interesting thing so far. Still, Gaster found himself wanting to get Sans a new couch. It seemed inhumane to let the shorter male keep this uncomfortable piece of furniture. Plus, it was ugly, and didn't compliment the red wallpaper. It bothered him.

When Gaster looked back towards, he found Sans staring at him. He raised an eyebrow. "Yes, may I help you?"

Sans' cheeks seemed to flush pink, and he looked away. "Nah, was just trying to think of a joke to make about your bedhead."

It seemed like a suspicious, but Gaster didn't care enough to pry. It didn't really matter, in the long run.

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

Gaster fixed his tie before he unlocked the lab, flipping the light switches next to the door, and looked at the wall clock. Seven fifty. Ten minutes before the shift started. His co-worker would walk in the door at any moment.

He worked on a few paper as he waited; complaints from people about the Core, concerns, other worthless documents that would be old news by ten. Everyone in the Underground had a short attention span.

When the door hadn't opened by eight o' five, Gaster became a bit annoyed at Sans. Five minutes late on the first day of his second week. Disgraceful. He made a note to lecture Sans when he got there. When the clock read nine thirty, Gaster started worrying about Sans, more so than being annoyed at him. His phone started ringing, and he checked the caller ID before clearing his throat, and answering. "Yes, hello?"

"Dr. Gaster, I checked the system, and it says your assistant hasn't clocked in to work yet." Asgore said. Gaster worked on documents as the King continued. "Do you know why that is?"

"Mr. Fontz appears to be late. His shift started an hour and a half ago, and he has yet to show up." Gaster answered. He looked at the clock again. Only a minute had gone by, but it had felt like ages.

"I heard there was an increase in crime rate in Snowdin. That is where he lives, correct?" Asgore asked. Gaster tugged at his collar.

"You don't suppose something happened to him, do you?" He asked nervously. There was a sound of papers rustling, and the King muttering.

"I have not gotten a report from anyone in the Guard about anything like that, but the guards in Snowdin are not exactly the hardest working bunch... Neither are the sentries. That whole town is honestly full of drunks, and bums. Which is why we have the most issue with Snowdin."

Gaster stood from his desk, fixing his glasses. "I think I'm going to go see for myself what's going on."

"Okay, but be careful." Asgore warned. "Good luck, Dr. Gaster."

"Thank you. Goodbye." The scientist replied. He pulled the phone away from his ear, and clicked the 'end call' button, before turning his phone off, and shoving it in his pocket.

The ferry ride to Snowdin seemed to take forever, and the Riverperson warning him in tongues wasn't exactly easing his mind. He was really starting to worry when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out. It was a text from Sans. That eased him a bit, until he read the message. 

_**Sans  
9:55 A.M.** _

**_sorry im late for work somethin happened can u come over plz_ **

Gaster shoved the phone back in his pocket, getting off the ferry, and walking briskly to his assistant's house. When he arrived at the literal scene of the crime, Guards seemed to be arresting someone (he didn't recognize who), and Sans and Papyrus were standing outside the building; Papyrus talking to a Guard as Sans was leaned up against the house. Both brothers looked a bit banged up. Papyrus had a few cuts on his cheeks and forehead, all looking very minor compared to Sans' injuries. A medic seemed to be talking to him, but Sans didn't seem too interested in receiving medical help. Gaster pushed through Guards, sentries, medics, and neighbours until he got to his coworker, who looked up at him

The next few minutes were a blur, but soon the authorities had left and the only people that were there now were Sans, Papyrus, and himself. "What was all that about?" Gaster asked.

"A mean guy came into our house! He tried to take our stuff, and he hurt us!!" Papyrus answered.

"Sorry." Sans said. Gaster took notice that the smaller male had his arms wrapped around his midsection, and his shirt was soaked in blood.

"Sans, let me see your injury." Gaster said.

"It's just a tiny cut, I'm fine." Sans replied dismissively.

"Sans, this isn't a game. Show me."

"Let's just go inside." Sans said. He started limping inside; which just worried Gaster even more. Papyrus had already run inside, so the scientist followed his co-worker into his home. The smaller male limped toward the couch, and Gaster picked him up, making the smaller squeal and flush pink.

"I wasn't joking." Gaster said, laying Sans on the couch. "Now, are you going to show me the damage, or am I going to have to do it myself?"

"Fine, fine...! I'll do it..." Sans said. He looked at Papyrus. "Go upstairs, and straighten your room up, bro."

"Okie dokie!!" Papyrus said. He ran upstairs, and Sans lifted his shirt a little. He had a wound on his side that was very clearly bleeding out. Gaster's hands hovered over the wounds as green magic poured from them to the cut. Healing magic. Sans didn't make eye contact with Gaster as he worked on healing him.

"You could have bled out and died." Gaster said.

"I know." Sans replied quietly.

Despite himself, Gaster Checked his assistant's stats... Only to find that his HP was dropping. Not as if he was getting attacked, but his maximum cap HP had gone down from the usual twenty-five to fifteen. His Attack and Defense had dropped, too... Curious. "Why were you limping?"

"The guy who attacked us kinda... Pushed me down the stairs. I landed on my leg weird..." 

"Jesus fucking Christ, Sans." Gaster replied. One of his hands focused on his co-worker's leg, pouring healing magic into it. Healing magic could never do quite what a hospital trip could, but he had a feeling Sans wouldn't be able to afford a hospital bill.

Based on the dark circles under Sans' eyes, and the fact that he looked like he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open, Gaster assumed Sans would need some good old time and patience in order to recover from everything that had happened this morning. He didn't bother the smaller male as his eyes closed and his head dropped, his breathing evening out and becoming rhythmic and slow.

Once he was sure his magic had done everything it could for Sans, Gaster pulled his hands away. He fixed his glasses as his gaze rest on his sound asleep assistant. Even after all that, the smaller male seemed determined to keep his hair in his face. If that wasn't the definition of stubborn, he wasn't sure what was. He sighed. Boy, wasn't today interesting so far?

_**((Woooooo finished this** _

_**Just a quick note that chapters are gonna be slow in the making, probably until the end of July. I'm visiting my home town right now, so I don't get on Wattpad/AO3/Tumblr very much. I think this is the most amount of time I've written this week alone.** _

_**If you have fanart, feel free to send it to me on DeviantArt, Tumblr, Instagram, Kik, or Facebook. Feel free to inbox me and ask me for my username on the specific site/app of your choice.** _

_**-Felix))** _


	7. Chapter Seven - Awkward Respite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans and Gaster get hammered drunk and play a game. Character development and shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a slightly longer chapter, so I really hope this doesn't bore people. My laptop is being tied up rn, so the Tumblr peeps are gonna get this chapter a bit late. Wasn't like most of my readers were on Tumblr, anyways. 
> 
> Trigger warning, slightly implied child abuse and depression.

His vision was cloudy as he opened his eyes, blinking a few times to adjust himself. Groggily, Sans sat up, a sudden pain in his side drawing a sharp breath out of him. He was in the living room. Weird... He didn't remember falling asleep.

Further investigation of his surroundings brought the seven foot tall man sprawled across his living room floor, a few blankets and pillows around him, and an open first aid kit open by the couch. He couldn't see Papyrus, nor could he hear him; that was unlike his brother, but then again, Sans had no idea how long he himself had been out. Papyrus could have already been asleep.

Glancing to the arm of the couch, Sans saw a piece of paper with sloppy handwriting on it. He rubbed his eyes before picking the note up and reading it.

_Sans,_

_If I'm asleep by the time you wake up and read this, please ease your mind in knowing that you have the rest of the week off, as do I. I made dinner for Papyrus and read him a book, so he's sound asleep upstairs as well. I patched your wound up, and got you a few blankets and pillows because your couch is an absolute sore to sleep on, I absolutely cannot understand how you can sleep on that thing. Even your floor is more comfortable._

_Sincerely,_   
_Gaster_

Sans rubbed his tired eyes once more. Rest of the week off? He hoped he was still going to get paid... It wasn't exactly easy to have someone break into your house, fatally injure you, and then deny medical care from professionals because you can't afford it, and your pride would have gotten in the way, even if you could. That was hard work, and Sans felt he deserved to be compensated for his troubles.

Still, he couldn't shake the feeling the note had given him. Almost a weird sense of... Security? Gaster didn't seem like the type to leave someone when they need help. The smaller male was used to just sucking it up and getting over things like this on his own for the sake of his brother. Papyrus shouldn't have to know about hardship or suffering, so Sans would often put up a front and soldiered through even the worst pain to make sure his brother would never know about suffering. With Gaster as a friend, medical care seemed to be a phone call away, and Papyrus could still continue to be oblivious...

Come to think of it, it wasn't just the note that had given him that strange sense of safety. Gaster himself was radiating with it. Sans frowned. Ah, there had to be a word for how he felt towards Gaster... He had been feeling weird around the guy ever since Sunday.

When he thought about it, Sans had always had a bit of a crush on the Royal Scientist. A celebrity crush, if you will. He'd seen newspaper clippings all around the shop in Snowdin and Grillby's whenever he'd go to those places with pictures of Gaster and his newest creations. When he went in for the job, he was almost certain he'd gotten over it, but now it felt like it was creeping back up on him... And a bit stronger this time, too, now that he actually knew him.

He huffed, blowing hair out of his face. Just great. He was falling for his employer, and it was hitting him faster than a ton of bricks. Could it even be considered a celebrity crush, now that they were friends? He didn't know, but what he did know was he had to stop himself from falling for Gaster even further, if he was gonna protect himself from probable rejection.

~~~~~~~~~~

The artificial sunlight, that was made from magical energy of course, as that was how all the weather down here was made, shone in through the windows as Gaster awoke. Yes, the floor was definitely more comfortable than the couch. Speaking of the couch, his first instinct was of course to look over at the couch, where Sans lay sleeping. The fact that the other had propped his bad leg up, and swallowed himself in the pillows and blankets Gaster had so graciously pulled out of the closet in his room, told the scientist Sans had woken up in between now and when he had fallen asleep, and had decided to go back to sleep upon noticing everyone else was out.

Gaster stood, stretching. Jeez, Asgore hadn't been kidding about the increase crime rate in Snowdin, huh? What were the chances that crime rate rate would be up in the town Sans lived in? What was even more mind boggling was the fact that the trespasser had been so violent, too. He feared to know what would have happened to Papyrus had Sans not been late.

The scientist figured Papyrus would most likely sleep in today, unlike Sunday when he'd been up bright and early. The young boy had been up until about one in the morning worrying about Sans until Gaster had finally managed to put him to bed. It was sweet that Papyrus had been concerned for his older brother like that, but the scientist had wanted nothing more than to get the day over with at that point.

His gaze rested on the bottle of whiskey on the table. A man by the name of Grillby, as far as he could remember, had brought it by for Sans. Gaster figured he owned the place called 'Grillby's' just down the road from Sans' house. The ginger male had looked in the doorway and seen Sans asleep on the couch as Papyrus had stuck his head into the conversation. He'd called the man Grillby, which was the only reason Gaster knew his name. Grillby had given Gaster the bottle to give to Sans.

He frowned. Sans had just turned eighteen. Yes, that was the legal drinking age in most places Underground, save for New Home, but an entire bottle of whiskey? Seemed weird to give someone who was barely an adult that much alcohol at once. Especially someone so... Short in stature like Sans. He shook the thought from his head. It wasn't his business.

Sans stirred awake on the couch, and Gaster looked over as the smaller male made eye contact. He quickly averted his friend's gaze. "You're awake."

Sans nodded, rubbing his eyes. "Um... Thank you."

The scientist felt his cheeks heat up, and he couldn't tell why. "What for...?" He asked.

"Taking care of me. No one's ever done that for me. I've always had to patch myself up..."

"Your wounds were very severe. I don't think you could have patched yourself up. Plus, I'm very good with healing magic, and I never get to use it, anyways." He replied. He picked his glasses up, putting them on.

"Well, then, thanks for saving my life." Sans added sheepishly.

"It was honestly nothing."

The smaller male looked around before noticing the bottle of alcohol on the table. Oh? What's this? "What's with the alcohol?"

"A man brought it for you. Said he'd seen the commotion with the guards and the medics over here, and heard you'd been injured. He had red hair, kind of curly, glasses, amber eyes. Nice looking guy." Gaster answered.

"That's Grillbz. Figures he'd bring that." Sans said. "He knows it's my favourite."

Gaster raised an eyebrow as Sans sat up, reaching for the bottle. "You're going to drink this early?"

Sans shook his head. "I'm gonna smell it. I don't drink until after three."

"You've only been old enough to drink for a few months. How do you already have a favourite drink?"

Sans stopped messing with the lid on the bottle for a moment as he looked at Gaster. "Oh, uh, I've been drinking since I was, like, fourteen."

Of course, this slightly took Gaster by surprise; but on the other hand, Sans did look like the type, so the initial shock had left as soon as it had come. It was a thought that had barely lasted a moment, if that. "I've been drinking since I was sixteen."

"I kinda figured." Sans said with a shrug. Gaster couldn't find it within him to get annoyed at the other male for saying that, he probably looked like the type, too. The smaller male struggled with the lid for a bit longer until the bottle finally opened, and he took a whiff.

"Why on Earth are you smelling it?" Gaster asked. If he was honest, Sans looked ridiculous with the mouth of the bottle up to his nose. The other gave him a look of confusion before shrugging again.

"I just like how it smells." He said. "We should drink this later. You want to?"

The scientist tugged on his sleeve. "I've never really drank whiskey." He said. "I usually stick to... Weird, expensive stuff that Asgore usually gives me."

"C'mon, it'll be fun." Sans insisted. "Besides, alcohol loosens people up, and you're always so stiff." He added with a grin. Gaster frowned.

"Oh, yeah? Well... You're awkward and quiet." He replied. That was the best he could come up with.

"Not after a few shots of this, I ain't."

Gaster shook his head. What was he getting himself into? "Okay, fine."

"Nice. I'll send Pap to Undyne's. He can just go to school tomorrow." Sans said. He sat back on the couch, seemingly relaxed as Gaster started bracing himself for what would happen later on tonight.

~~~~~~~~~~

As the door closed behind Undyne and Papyrus, Gaster gave himself one last mental pep talk as Sans limped his way into the kitchen (even after Gaster had insisted he stay sat so that he didn't irritate the injury more) and brought out two shot glasses. Or, rather, two double shot glasses. Fun. It didn't help that it was a rather big bottle already, now they were going to drink double shots.

They sat on the floor, and Sans set one of the glasses in front of him as he poured a bit of the whiskey into his and Gaster's glass, capping the bottle afterwards. "Warning you now, this stuff burns."

"I'm not really prepared." Gaster replied honestly. Sans picked his glass up, and Gaster followed after him.

"Cheers." Sans said, knocking the glass back and taking it all in one go. Jesus fucking Christ, this was gonna be one hell of a hangover tomorrow. Hesitantly, Gaster knocked his shot back as well, almost coughing it up at the sudden burn in his throat. He powered through the shot, however, and then coughed when the burn didn't go away.

"That's... That's something else." He rubbed his throat. The taste of it wasn't bad, and he didn't necessarily hate it, but if it had been his pick, they'd be drinking something milder. Still, the burn would become more tolerable as the night went on. It'd come back to haunt them tomorrow.

Sans didn't seem phased at all, and honestly looked quite content. "What's your favourite colour?"

The scientist blinked. Right, small talk. That was a thing still. "I've never really had a favourite. I suppose if I had to choose, it'd be... Blue. Something close to your eye colour."

"Mine is orange." Sans replied. "The shade of my bro's eyes, and fire. Of a brave soul. It reminds me of warmth."

Gaster nodded a little. "Blue reminds me of water. Tranquility. The echo flowers in Waterfall. There aren't a lot of colours in New Home, and even less echo flowers."

Everything in him still screamed to stop opening up about such personal thoughts, but Gaster found it hard to keep himself quiet around Sans for whatever damn reason, curse the younger male for being able to make him open up like this. Emotions weren't his strong suit. "Once, me and Pap went on a picnic in Waterfall. I told bad jokes and the echo flowers kept repeating 'em. He hated it." Sans chuckled. "It was hilarious."

Gaster smiled a bit, swishing the bit of liquid at the bottom of his glass around. "My brothers and I used to confuse people with echo flowers. Our voices were so similar that no one could tell the difference. Not even our, um... Parents."

"That sounds like it was fun." Sans said.

"It was." Gaster replied. He sighed. "We tried our best to have fun, despite not having much. Berlin was entertained by anything. He used to chase butterflies around, and draw in the dirt with his fingers. He'd always come home covered in mud."

"What about your other brother?"

"Kozuka always complained about being bored. He had a really old gameboy that fell into the trash. He traded baseball cards for video game cartridges with his classmates. One year, for our birthday, I gave him a game that I found in the dump. He looked really happy." Gaster hummed. "Then, she found out about it, and smashed it into a million pieces right in front of him..."

Sans poured another round for both of them, and Gaster knocked it back without thinking. It didn't bother him as much this time. "Who's the 'she'?"

"Doesn't matter." Gaster said. He looked at Sans, who was knocking back his shot.

"One year, for Pap's birthday, I gave him a stuffed bear. He still has it." He looked around the room before trying to think of another question.

About two shots later, the whiskey was definitely starting to kick in. Instead of knocking the fourth one back, Gaster sipped it carefully, almost fearing the stinging sensation that had come with each shot so far. Not Sans, he knew what he was doing, and was used to it by now. Gaster sighed. "This is some really strong stuff."

"It gets the job done quickly." Sans replied dully. "Don't people usually play dumb games when they're drinking?"

"College kids and underage teens, maybe." Gaster said. He swished the liquid around his glass.

Sans shrugged. "We're around the age of college kids."

"I know a few games. The King and I used to play stupid games while taking shots of Scotch." The scientist looked at his friend. "Do you know how to play 'Never Have I Ever'?"

Sans nodded. "We play that all the time at Grillby's. I don't usually join in, but I've watched everyone else play."

Gaster fixed his posture, sitting up straight. "Do you wanna play that?"

Sans shrugged. "Sure. Should I go first, or you?"

"You first."

Sans nodded a little, thinking. "Never have I ever gotten past ten shots of tequila."

"I've never even drank tequila." Gaster said. Sans poured the scientist another shot.

"Let's hope we can get past ten shots of this, then." He poured himself a shot as well. They both knocked the glass back. Gaster coughed a bit into his elbow. Still strong.

"Alright, my turn, then." He said. "Never have I ever stolen anything."

"I used to think about it from time to time, but I never actually gathered the courage to do something like that." Sans said sheepishly. He poured them both another shot.

"Why did you think about doing it?" Gaster asked curiously.

"Not enough money." Sans shrugged. "It was either steal, or starve. I went to bed hungry a lot as a kid. I always made sure Papyrus had food, but sometimes, there just wasn't enough for me."

Gaster felt a pang of empathy in his chest. He nodded in understanding. "It's your turn." He said after they'd taken their shots, and the room had gone silent.

Sans looked thoughtful for a moment as he shifted his bad leg into a more comfortable position. "Never have I ever kissed anyone." He said quietly.

"Never?"

"Not unless ya count goodnight kisses on the forehead with Pap." Sans replied. "I've never even been in a relationship. Never had the time to look for anyone. Not that I would have found anyone, anyways."

Gaster rubbed the back of his neck. "I was with someone when I was around fifteen, but I never really... Let him do anything." He looked at Sans, who looked a bit shocked.

"You never really struck me as gay."

"I'm not." Gaster said. "I'm bisexual. Guys and girls." He was silent for a moment. "Mostly guys."

"I'm experimenting." Sans said. "I mean, not actively, cuz I've never been with anyone of any gender, but... I think I'm bi." He shrugged. "It's all really confusing. I probably would have figured it out by now if I had let myself think about it sooner, but..." He trailed off. He brought himself back to reality, pouring them both another shot.

"But...?" Gaster asked.

"But it's not like it would have mattered, anyways. Not a lot of people in Snowdin around my age, most of them were straight guys, or gay girls, and even if there were anyone who would have been available, they wouldn't have wanted me, because I was the weirdo orphan." He picked up the shot glass and knocked it back.

Gaster hesitated before doing the same. It was his turn. He couldn't take his mind off what Sans had just said... "Never have I ever... Worn women's clothes."

Sans looked away a bit. "Uh, about that..."

"Sans, don't tell me you wear women's clothes, please." Gaster facepalmed.

"I've got like three dresses in my closet. They make me feel more confident..." He rubbed his arm. "I also have a dumb little makeup kit that Undyne gave me. She found it at the dump. I'm not really all that good at doing makeup."

Gaster sighed, shaking his head as he poured himself a shot. "You're ridiculous, but at least that explains the female uniform question you asked..." He smiled a little.

"Never have I ever watched porn." Sans said as Gaster took his shot. The scientist poured him and Sans another shot immediately.

"I swear you're trying to get drunk at this point." Gaster said.

"You've been slurring your words for like, five minutes now. I think it's working." Sans chuckled. He knocked his shot back, as did Gaster. "Besides, you're twenty three. People have usually watched porn at least once by the time they turn that age."

"I never really needed porn, if I'm honest." Gaster said. "You definitely look like someone who watches porn aaaallll the time."

"Do I really?" Sans asked playfully.

"Mmhm." Gaster answered. "Never have I ever jerked off."

"Welp, looks like you're the only one drinking this round."Sans said. Gaster laughed a bit, pouring himself another shot. The bottle still wasn't anywhere near empty. Sans looked thoughtful and was suddenly quiet. He was fixing his hair in a way that covered his face a bit more, and concerned Gaster at the same time.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sans said quietly. "Alcohol is, uh. It's a depressant. I'll be fine. It's just the drink talking."

Gaster sat his glass down and watched his coworker basically curl up on himself, making him look smaller than usual in an alarming way. He remembered the marks he'd seen on the other's arms, and his own wrists began to itch. He put a hand on Sans' shoulder. "You don't look okay..." He said.

"Just the whiskey, I'm fine." Sans insisted. "I don't usually get like this, I'm sorry." A few moments passed before Sans sat normally again, wiping his face with his sleeve. "I'm fine. Let's keep playing. Whose turn is it?"

"It's your turn." Gaster replied hesitantly. The game continued until the bottle was a little more than half empty, and then they both decided to call it a night; especially since when Gaster stood to go to the bathroom, he almost fell back onto his ass again. It was safe to say they were both hammered.

When the scientist finally safely stumbled his way back down the stairs, he found Sans fast asleep on the floor, the shot glass still in hand, and the bottle sitting on the coffee table next to a rick covered in sprinkles. He took the glass and put it next to the bottle, along with the other glass, then laid next to the smaller male, and passed out within moments.

~~~~~~~~~~

Groggy purple eyes fluttered open at the first light of day, craning his neck to see the artificial daylight outside before his surroundings made themself known to him. He slowly looked down to the smaller figure curled next to him as his face flushed pink. Somehow, Sans had managed to cuddle up to him at some point during the night. His head throbbed, his throat was sore, and now his face was hot. Great way to start the day.

When the scientist tried to move without disturbing his friend, the other stirred a little, turning onto his other side and mumbling something unintelligible before settling again, just as silent as before. Gaster stood there, trying to comprehend what had just happened, which just made his headache worse. It grew even more painful when he tried to think about why he even cared in the first place.

He sat on the couch, leaning back and closing his eyes as he waited for the hangover to go away.

 


	8. Chapter Eight - Wooden Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Sans and Gaster shenanigans.

The light of day blinded Sans as he woke up, bringing a hand up to shield his eyes from the harsh rays slowly. He groaned in pain, his head throbbing and his throat painfully dry. He looked next to him. Where was Gaster?

Looking around, he found the other male on the couch, looking half passed out. The only reason Sans was convinced the scientist wasn't completely asleep was because of how uncomfortable the couch was. He'd have to make a mental note to go to the dump and see if he could find a better couch. He'd remind himself when this headache went away.

Gaster looked at him, having noticed the smaller male was awake due to the movement out of the corner of his eye. "We are never doing that again."

"Good luck." Sans scoffed jokingly. "This is what I usually do, anyways."

"Get drunk to the point of waking up with a headache the size of New Home?" Gaster asked.

"Yeah, that." Sans replied. He sat up, careful not to move his bad leg too much. He wasn't sure yet if he could walk on it properly. He rubbed his head, wanting the headache to go away. "Hangovers are basically routine for me at this point."

The scientist yawned quietly. "You're weird."

"Yeah." Sans agreed. He pulled himself up onto the couch carefully, using the coffee table as a foot rest and leaning back.

Gaster closed his eyes again before slitting one open, looking in Sans' direction. "You're awfully clingy in your sleep, you know."

Sans looked confused; which wasn't all that shocking. "Whattaya mean?"

"I woke up to you cuddling me like I was some kind of teddy bear." Gaster yawned again. His colleague's face flushed red.

"Uh, sorry." He said. "I didn't... I..." He was struggling to find the words to complete his thought, but the scientist waved him off dismissively, closing his eye again.

"It's not that big of a deal. Just an odd quirk of yours I thought you should be aware of." If he was honest, he wasn't sure what kind of response he was expecting; or why it was relevant. He'd done it while he was asleep. It wasn't like he could just try harder to not do it again, and it wasn't like Gaster had minded all that much, anyways. Wouldn't have minded if it happened again-

He shook his head a little at the thought. Jeez, was he still drunk? This wasn't like him at all. He felt the couch shift a bit as Sans relaxed further into his seat next to him.

Neither said anything for a while until Sans finally spoke. "My leg doesn't hurt as much today. I might be able to go to work tomorrow."

Gaster waved him off again. "I already scheduled us both off. Besides, I needed a week off, too."

"You must work really hard, huh?" Sans asked. "I mean, you've got an entire population of people to worry about. You're almost as important as a king."

"Well, up until I hired you I worked my ass off." Gaster replied. He sighed. "Hiring you took a bunch of work off my plate. I suppose Asgore was right when he said I shouldn't do it all on my own. But, I've always been stubborn."

Sans was quiet for a moment again. "You really didn't like me the first few days we knew each other."

"I act like that towards everyone. Don't take it to heart too much." Gaster paused. "You're an alright guy. Easy to get along with."

"Well, why are you like that to people?" The other male asked. Gaster looked for the right words to phrase this.

"I suppose it's a defense mechanism. I'm a very cautious person when it comes to people. Other people... Intimidate me. I act hostile so that the people who aren't worth it lose interest, and leave me alone."

"Oh." Sans replied simply. "I just don't talk to people that often." He admitted. "I mean, there's you, and Grillby, my brother, Undyne, and a few other people I talk to. But I don't really talk to people that often."

"You're shy." Gaster said.

Sans nodded.  "Yeah... I don't hang out with people, either. It... Kind of surprised me when I started asking you to hang out with me. I wouldn't do that with other people. I usually sit upstairs in my room." He paused. "Alone. With no one to disturb me."

Gaster looked around. "I don't usually do this with people other than Asgore. I only have three contacts in my phone, and you're one of them." The scientist replied.

"Hooray for socially awkward buddies." Sans said unenthusiastically. Gaster could tell by his tone that his mind was somewhere else entirely, and then he had remembered the events of last night. He frowned. As much as he hated heavy conversation, this was a conversation that was inevitable anyways. He sat up properly, opening his eyes and looking at his co-worker. Just as he had thought, Sans was hiding behind his hair again, as if Gaster would turn to stone should he see his face.

"Are you okay?"

The question took Sans by surprise. He looked at Gaster, looking dumbfounded for a moment. "Uh, yeah, why wouldn't I be?" He asked.

"It's not my business, but no one else is going to ask you about this." Gaster replied. "Why do you hurt yourself?" Sans looked like he was going to interject for a moment, but Gaster cut him off. "Don't tell me you don't, I've seen."

The smaller male looked uncertain for a moment. "What does it matter...?"

"I'm curious." Gaster replied. It was more like he wanted to fix the issue so that his friend wouldn't do that anymore, but, he didn't say that aloud.

Still, Sans looked conflicted. "Look, just don't tell Pap, okay? You're the only person who knows about this. I don't want him to know."

"Understandable." Gaster replied.

"I..." He trailed off. "I don't... Know why I do it. I guess I just..."

"You can be honest with me." Gaster encouraged after a moment of silence.

"I don't know, I just... Don't like myself very much." The other said. "I'm a screwup..."

"You're not a screwup, Sans." Gaster disagreed.

"I am, though." Sans said. "I'm weird, and short, and gross, and-" he cut himself off. He was getting a bit worked up, and he didn't want to do that and up crying in front of someone else.

Gaster sighed. Now seemed like the perfect time. Slowly, he rolled his own sleeves up; old scars littered both arms in uneven patterns. Sans stared at them. "I'm a little over a year clean." The scientist said.

"Well, why did you...?" Sans asked.

"The same reason. I don't like myself very much." He replied. "I'm weird, and lanky, and socially awkward. I can't talk to people on the phone, I can barely drag myself out of bed most mornings." He rolled his sleeves back down. "But hurting yourself doesn't solve anything. All it does is make it worse, and worry the people around you. There's no point."

"When did you see mine? I'm usually good at keeping them hidden." Sans said.

"When I drew the dick on your arm." Gaster chuckled.

"... Well, shit." Sans said, facepalming. "I'm a fucking idiot."

"Sans, honestly, I would have figured it out at some point." Gaster said. "Just don't do it anymore. It's pointless."

Sans shifted in his seat. "I guess..."

Both were silent, and neither knew for how long. There was a knock on the door, and as Sans went to stand to answer it, Gaster beat him to it. "Stay sat, you're hurt." He said firmly.

"It doesn't hurt that much anymore." Sans said.

Gaster wasn't listening, he was already walking towards the door. It swung open, and there stood Grillby again. "Is Sans here?"

"Right here." Sans said. Grillby looked past Gaster to Sans, and Gaster got out of the way. "How ya doing Grillbz?"

"I'm doing fine. How are you, dear friend?" The bartender asked. Suddenly, Gaster was feeling like an awkward third wheel.

"I'm good." Sans replied casually. "Sprained my leg falling down the stairs, but other than that, I'm good."

"You also got stabbed in the gut." Gaster interjected. His comment went ignored.

"Is your... Friend here taking care of you?" Grillby asked. Sans nodded.

"Yeah. He's being a total mom about it."

"I am not." Gaster denied.

"Yeah, but you are."

"I am not being a mom about it." The scientist replied.

"You so are." Sans said, sticking his tongue out.

"Mind your manners." Gaster said. And then he went pale. Holy shit, he was being a mom about it. He frowned as Sans laughed a bit. "Oh, hush."

"Sure thing, mom." Sans joked. He looked at the bartender, whose usual unamused expression had shifted into a slight smile at watching the two interact. "What brings you by, Grillbz? Aren't you working today?"

"I came to bring you your usual." The bartender said, holding a paper bag up. There were grease stains on it and the smell of charred meat wafted into the living room.

"Oh, thanks." Sans said. "You can just-"

"Put it on your tab, I know." Grillby interrupted. He laughed a little, shaking his head as he handed the paper bag to Gaster. "I need to be getting back to work. Get well soon, dear friend."

"Thanks, Grillbz." Sans said. The bartender waved goodbye before turning and walking away as Gaster closed the door behind him. "Ah, what a guy." Sans said.

Gaster couldn't quite place the feeling that was churning his stomach, grinding his gears and making him feel like punching something all at once, but he shoved it down where it couldn't rear its ugly head as he walked over and plopped the bag on the coffee table, a pool of grease soon spilling around the bag as it sat while Sans stared at Gaster, wondering why he looked so annoyed. "Yes, quite." The scientist replied distantly.

Sans hesitantly took the bag off the table, not taking his eyes off the scientist as he ate and wondered what the other's issue was.

~~~~~~~~~~

The sound of screaming children had come back later that day, and it wasn't easy to deal with, since both their headaches lingered. Papyrus ran up to where his older brother sat slumped on the couch, hands behind his back. "Close your eyes, big brother!" He said.

"Kay." Sans replied. He closed his eyes.

"Hold your hands out." He said next. Sans obliged, and Papyrus put something in his hand and closed his fingers around the small object. "Open your eyes!"

Sans looked down at the small trinket. A wooden necklace, in the shape of a half of a heart, with his name crudely carved into it. The necklace part was some yarn. "Oh, thanks, bro." He said. "Who has the other half? You?"

"Nope!" Papyrus giggled. "Me and Undyne made the other one for Dr. Gaster!"

Gaster spit his coffee out. "What?"

Sans laughed a little. "Aww, ain't that just sweet of you?" He ruffled Pap's hair as the young boy held the other half of the necklace out to Gaster. Gaster took it hesitantly and put it on. Papyrus giggled happily, running off again.

Sans put the necklace on, shaking his head. "Isn't my brother the coolest?"

"He sure is." Gaster agreed. He looked down at the small half heart. "A heart, though? Really?"

"Eh, he's seen a lot of friendship necklaces in the shop. I don't think he knows those are usually for little girls. Undyne probably went along with it to humor him."

Gaster frowned. His full name wasn't on the necklace. It was a shortened version of his font. "'Dings'?"

"Must be a nickname. Wingdings. Dings. Makes sense." Sans shrugged. "Mine shoulda said 'Legendary Fart Master', but 'Sans' is shorter."

Gaster shook his head, sighing. The brothers certainly were... Interesting.

Undyne had left to go home, and Papyrus had gone to bed early that night. Gaster was washing up the dishes from dinner while Sans was putting a movie into the VCR. As soon as the scientist had finished, he went back into the living room, hitting the light switch on his way in.

The two didn't pay attention to the movie all like that. Sans had argued that you could pass more time and get more replayability out of a movie if you didn't pay attention to it. So they talked. "And then he landed in a snow bank."

"You're lucky he didn't hit his head and die, honestly, who throws their sibling out of a window?"

Sans shrugged. "Either way, Paps doesn't really use doors now. He usually enters and exits Undyne's through her window."

Gaster shook his head. "You're ridiculous."

"Yeah." Sans agreed.

They'd watched a bit of the movie after that, and eventually the end credit song was playing. Gaster heard the other male yawn, and had failed to notice before now that Sans had his head laid on his lap. Instead of disturbing him, Gaster let Sans fall asleep there, the TV screen turning blue as the end credits ended. He looked down at the small wooden heart around his neck before picking up the remote and turning the TV off. The room went pitch black, and Gaster took his glasses off, setting them on the floor by the couch as he fell asleep.

 


	9. Chapter Nine - No One Is Happy With This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans and Gaster both deal with their developing feelings for each other in their own ways.

The week passed, and Monday came around. Sans had been correct in assuming he would heal from his injury soon; he'd been better by Thursday morning, and had tried to convince Gaster to let him work. Gaster wasn't having any of it. "Today would be our last day before the weekend, anyways. There's no point in working today."

Sans had huffed in annoyance. "Fine."

Now, as Gaster sat at his desk, he glanced at the clock and let that incident run through his mind. Sans was the lazy type; he'd learned that from being friends with the other for about two weeks now, and basically living at his house for almost an entirety of one of those weeks. He didn't understand how someone as lazy as his co-worker would be basically begging to work. It didn't add up. He supposed a lot of things about Sans didn't add up. Like why there was so much ketchup in his fridge, or why the other kept his hair in his face 24/7.

Sans showed up to work at seven fifty-nine. Right on time. Wordlessly, he got Gaster coffee. "Two creamer, three sugar." He said as he set the mug down.

Gaster nodded, taking a sip. Perfect as always. "Thank you."

"No problem, Dings."

Gaster shook his head at the nickname. That was what he got for letting one of his names slip. Papyrus had first clung to the nickname, and then Sans followed in suit, and Undyne used it just to annoy him whenever she had been there. If he was honest, he didn't mind it too much. It was just a bit embarrassing.

Sans sat at his seat, sorting through paperwork that had piled up on his desk during the week they'd been off work. "How was your weekend?"

"It was good." Sans answered. "Pap hated that you left."

Gaster shrugged. "I'm an introvert. Day one had already been too much social interaction for me."

"Honestly, same." Sans replied.

"Why were you so antsy to get back to work, anyways, 'lazy bones'?" Gaster asked with a smirk. Sans groaned in mock annoyance.

"Jeez, not you, too. I get called that enough at home." He smiled. "And because I love science. I don't think there's a better job for me than this one."

"Just don't slack off, wise guy." Gaster said. He took one of the file folders on his desk, reached over, and lightly hit Sans on the head with it. "We've got a lot to do today.

"Yeah, I got ya." Sans replied.

"Good." Gaster said. He took another sip of his coffee. It still boggled his mind how quickly Sans had been able to make a perfect cup every time since day one. He of course didn't bring it up. Unnecessary.

The lab had been quiet with a few conversations here and there. Gaster learned that Sans' favourite movie was 'some dumb animated thing about a fish who pretended he had killed a shark', as Sans himself had put it. Shark Tale, was the title, he thinks. Wasn't sure. Undyne supposedly ruined the VCR tape by driving one of her spears through it. Seemed likely. That girl was as fierce as the day was long. Sans had learned that Gaster's favourite drink was root beer.

Lunch break rolled around, and they ate in the break room, entirely silent. Gaster looked around the room, Sans drumming his hands on the table to some tune stuck in his head.

Usually, the deafening silence and solitude drove Gaster half insane, before he had hired Sans. Now, even though the room was almost as silent as it had always been, he found it hard to go into a panic whenever the noise had stopped.

A devious smirk crossed his face. His coworker was distracted by a simple tune he was humming, oblivious to the world around him. Gaster, who had rarely ever used his magic, figured it'd be okay to use it just this once. He sipped his coffee innocently as two floating skeletal hands appeared behind his coworker.

When the hands rested on Sans' shoulders, Gaster could have sworn the smaller male's soul had left his body as he basically jumped out of his chair. The scientist grinned as the other looked at him. Shock. That was the expression Gaster had imagined. "Don't fucking do that, oh, my gosh...!"

Gaster chuckled. "Ahh, you should have seen your face."

Sans frowned. Gaster blinked, and the younger male was gone. He blinked again. What...?

"Boo."

Gaster shrieked, falling out of his chair and knocking his coffee cup onto the floor with his elbow. Luckily, the glass didn't break. Unluckily, the coffee was definitely gonna stain the carpet. Sans laughed as the scientist stared up at him. "How-"

"I can teleport." Sans said, almost proudly. "I've gotten Pap with that soooo many times." He crossed his arms, a grin spreading across his face. Gaster stood, fixing his lab coat before clearing his throat.

"Point proven." He sat back down, and Sans teleported into his seat. He sighed silently to himself. He had a feeling that now that the younger male had revealed this ability, he was going to use it a lot. He shook his head dismissively.

"You sure are jumpy." Sans mused.

"Always have been. Jumpy, clumsy. Awkward. That's me." To be fair, he had a theory that most of that was his mother's fault.

"Hmmm." Sans hummed.

Gaster cleared his throat again, looking at the cup of forsaken coffee on the floor. As neat of a person as he was, he didn't have the motivation to pick that mug up. "I'll clean that up later..." He mumbled to himself.

Sans stopped drumming on the table, and looked lost in thought. Gaster had figured out by now that letting Sans mind wander wasn't a good idea. He snapped his fingers in front of the other's face, and Sans looked at him. "Huh?"

"Earth to Sans." Gaster said. "You still here?"

Sans nodded. "Was just thinking."

"What about?"

"Why do you always wear those bandages on your hand?"

Gaster looked down at his hands. Ah, right. That... He looked back up at his coworker. "Ah, I, uh..." He looked around. "I was injured as a child. My hands got impaled."

Sans looked shocked, not that Gaster was looking. "I-impaled?"

The scientist nodded. "They never healed correctly. There's still holes there. They're scarred over that way, too."

Sans then looked sick. "How the hell did you manage to impale your hands?" He paused. "Both of them?"

Sans could have sworn he'd seen a look of absolute trauma flash across Gaster's eyes, if only for a moment. Gaster fixed his glasses. "It was an accident. I fell."

Sans knew that wasn't the truth, but he didn't press any further. Instead, he pushed what was left of his lunch away. "I don't think I'm hungry anymore."

"Me, either."

**_~~~~~~~~~~_ **

Melancholy was the only word Sans thought he could use to describe how he felt as he sat in his room. Was it just him, or did the house feel super empty and boring without Gaster here?

Of course it does, he thought. You have a super obvious major crush on the guy.

He felt like slapping himself upside the head. Stupid, stupid, stupid...! There was absolutely no reason to feel that way about someone he had just met only two weeks ago. Absolutely no reason. He blamed being attention starved. Now, Gaster was showing him compassion, and he was leaping at any scrap of affection the other gave him.

And in the end, it didn't even matter if what he felt towards Gaster was genuine. There was no way Gaster felt the same way. Right? Right. Sans had no doubt in his mind that telling the other that he'd somehow managed to fall for him in a two week span of time would just weird him out. He sighed. Maybe melancholy wasn't the word.

Still, he couldn't get his mind off what Gaster had told him earlier. It didn't seem like an accident... He didn't know what, but he, or someone else had done that to him. Now he just had to figure out who.

On the other hand, Gaster sat in the King's dining room, a saucer of tea, a plate of cookies and paperwork sprawled out on the table. "I was thinking some safety rails in this corridor could be a good idea."

Gaster looked at the blueprint, sipping his tea. He nodded. "Yeah, that does seem like a dangerous place. We should get the construction crew on it as soon as possible."

Giggling sounded through the house, and suddenly, there was a tug on Asgore's shirt. He looked down. "Dad!"

"Hello, Asriel." Asgore said with a smile. He ruffled his son's hair, glancing to the small boss monster beside him. "Chara." He said. He ruffled the monster's fur as well.

"Dad, we're gonna make cookies with mom!" Asriel said. He jumped up and down giddily. Chara stood silently.

"Well, have fun." Asgore chuckled. "Don't burn yourselves."

Asriel nodded, and Toriel ushered her children into the kitchen. "Cmon, children, let's get out of the way of their meeting." She said. She looked at Gaster. "Hello, Dr. Gaster." She smiled warmly.

Gaster waved a little. "Hello, Queen Toriel."

She laughed a little. "You can just call me Toriel, dear."

Gaster nodded. "Note taken."

"I will get out of your way. Have fun." She walked into the kitchen with the children.

Asgore peered over at Gaster's notes. "What are you drawing?"

Gaster covered his paper with his hand. "I wasn't drawing."

King Asgore chuckled. "I saw you drawing, you always doodle on your notes."

Gaster flushed red, the tips of his ears turning pink. "I don't always doodle."

"You do, though." Asgore replied. "Either way, you end up handing the notes to me, anyways. Do you mind if I see your drawing?"

"Yes, I do mind." Gaster replied. The King chuckled again, and Gaster sighed. He was right. He was going to see it, anyways. He handed the paper to the King. 'Just don't judge it too much' he signed.

The King looked at the small drawing. "This is a drawing of your assistant, Sans, right?"

'Yes.' Gaster replied, yet again in sign language. Asgore smiled.

"Why are you so embarrassed?"

'I am not embarrassed.' Gaster denied.

"Your face is red, dear friend."

'It is not.' He signed frantically.

"And you only use sign language when you're flustered." Asgore reasoned.

'What point are you trying to make? Can we focus on the meeting, please?'

Gaster avoided eye contact as Asgore studied the drawing more. "Interesting... You've never written in cursive before, and here is his name written in it."

'Let's focus on more important things.'

"You like him, do you not?"

Gaster's face somehow became a darker red. "I do not...!" He denied. "He is just my friend, nothing more, nothing less." He folded his arms across his chest.

"Oh you like him." Asgore said.

"I do not." Gaster said. He huffed. "This meeting is not about my love life, it's about the Underground."

"Gaster, dear friend, we have not talked in a while. I think the meeting can wait." The King reasoned. "You like him, do you not?"

Gaster blushed more, and at this point, it was spreading to his whole face. "That is of no importance. Even if I did, I am a very busy man, and he probably doesn't feel the same way. Whether or not I like him is irrelevant."

Asgore sighed. "Gaster, you stubborn fool."

"I am not in love with him. Let's get back to the meeting." He insisted.

"Whatever you say, Dr."

Despite not having met Gaster's assistant yet, Asgore could still tell his dear friend was head over heels.

 


	10. Chapter Ten - Messages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth is made known.

"What's that?"

"Paperwork."

"What's paperwork?"

Gaster sighed. "Like homework, but worse."

"He's got a point." Sans agreed.

"Brother, you've never done homework." Papyrus said.

"Still worse." Sans shrugged.

"Why are you two doing paperwork? Isn't that supposed to happen at work?"

"The papers are piling up. We're catching up." Gaster answered.

"Papyrus, go play, bro. We're a bit busy."

"Okiiiie. Have fun with your boring homework." Papyrus said, skipping off.

Gaster pinched the bridge of his nose, growling under his breath. "I don't understand, these formulas don't make any sense, all the numbers are jumbled together, the paper composition is sloppy, and the deadline is tomorrow."

"Getting angry about it isn't gonna help." Sans said. "Let's just take our time. We've got plenty of it."

"Well, it doesn't help I'm already distracted." Gaster mumbled.

"Yeah, sorry about Pap. He's curious." Sans said. He was also trying to solve his paper.

"Papyrus isn't a bother." Gaster said. He curled his hands into fists as he stared down at his paper.

"Do you want some help?" Sans asked. "Maybe I'll have some more luck?"

"Yes, please." Gaster said.

Sans looked at Gaster's paper. "Okay, so, you move that zero over there..." He pointed to different places on the paper as he explained. "Carry the one, subtract that number from the other answer, and then divide it by its square root."

The tip of his index finger pointed to the number closest to Gaster"s hand. He nodded. "That... Makes sense." Sans pulled his hand away, going back to his work. "Thank you."

"No problem." Sans said. The light above them started flickering, and they both glanced up. "Ah, the bulb is going dead." Sans muttered. Right on cue, the room went mostly dark. The bulb had died, and the only source of light was now the light in the kitchen, and the hallway upstairs. He sighed, but it sounded more like a groan of annoyance. "Whatever. Let's take a break. I had a headache, anyways."

"Agreed." Gaster replied. He drummed his fingers on the coffee table.

"You've been kinda quiet all day." Sans said.

"So have you." Gaster said.

"Is there something on your mind?"

"Irrelevant." Gaster replied. He avoided the question entirely, focusing solely on the paperwork he could no longer do, now that his vision was impaired more than usual. Sans frowned, and Gaster fixed his glasses. "You've also been distracted. What's on your mind?"

Sans sighed. "Nothing, really. It's dumb."

"We're probably not going to get any more work done tonight." The scientist replied stoically. "I'm a bit tired. Let's call it a night."

"Yeah." Sans agreed quietly. "I'm probably just gonna go to Grillby's."

Gaster nodded, though he was concerned. It wasn't any of his business, however, so he stood, collecting his paperwork into the file folder he'd brought and putting it in his bag. "We can try to get further on this tomorrow, before Asgore comes in to collect it. Try to get to work early."

"Gotcha." Sans said. Gaster walked over to the door, and Sans followed behind, turning the door knob and swinging it open. Gaster gave a slight nod, fixing his glasses. "Night, Dings."

"Goodnight, Sans."

The door clicked closed as Sans closed it, leaning against it. He dragged a hand down his face. He would wait a few moments, until Gaster was out of town to go to Grillby's. Even though it was probably only an hour until closing time. Grillby usually let Sans stay after hours, and vent about his issues drunkenly to not even remember in the morning. Thank God for small favours.

"Pap, I'm going out!" He called. "Go to bed at a decent time, you have school in the morning!"

"Okie dokie!!" Papyrus yelled back. Sans opened the door, stepping out into the cold, Snowdin night.

He'd lived in Snowdin most of his life, but the cold felt bitter tonight. It usually felt playful; the kind of cold that made you snuggle up to someone, or start a snowball fight. Tonight, it felt uninviting. The warmth that rushed over him as he entered Grillby's nearly gave him a headrush.

"Hey, Sansy!"  
"Hi, Sans!"  
"Heya, Sans!"

And variants of greetings were screamed over the sound of the jukebox. He waved a little, silent as he made his way to his usual seat at the bar. Grillby stood, cleaning a glass. "The usual, I'm assuming?"

"Mmhm." Sans replied. Grillby nodded, pouring a shot of whiskey and putting it on the table in front of Sans.

Gaster's door closed behind him quietly as he internally cursed himself. He threw his bag onto the couch, hanging his coat on the coat rack. He had carried it the rest of the way home, not wanting to wear it through Hotland. A sweater was already bad enough.

Hot water ran over his fingertips and he drew his hand back quickly. Ouch. Turning the knob a few more times, he temped the water until it was a comfortable temperature. His glasses came off first, then his shoes, socks, shirt, pants and his boxers as he stepped in the tub. The warm water rushed over him.

He stood there for a while lost in thought before running soapy hands through his dark brunette hair. The bandaging was coming loose, so he figured he'd have to replace them once he got out of the shower. For now, it didn't matter.

He scrubbed his body with the rag as if he had to scrape caked dirt off of him. In reality, he barely even needed a shower in the first place. He'd always been a tidy person, so he rarely was ever dirty. His fair skin was red in the places he'd scrubbed the hardest by the end of the shower.

He turned the water off, wrapping himself in a towel as he stepped out, his magic hands already doing him the favour of removing the steam from the mirror. Picking his glasses up and putting them on, he stared in the mirror. Ugh... There was those scars again. Not to mention the rest of him wasn't exactly a sight to behold.

His wrists itched, but he shook the thought from his head as soon as he could.

A sweater, a clean pair of boxers and some sweatpants had always sufficed as a decent pair of pajamas. Comfortable, baggy, warm; absolutely perfect. He was about to call it a night as he checked the time on his phone. Three thirty in the morning. Emphasis on about to.

Six new messages.

_**Sans** _   
_**2:05 AM** _   
_**i don't think i can come to wrk early tommorow dude i got kinda hammered like really fst to** _

_**Sans** _   
_**2:12 AM** _   
_**dude i fcuking love** _

_**Sans** _   
_**2:14 AM** _   
_**you i'm sorry** _

_**Sans** _   
_**2:17 AM** _   
_**i'm sorry i'm awkward weve inly known eech other fr 2 weeks i'm sorry** _

_**Sans** _   
_**2:19 AM** _   
_**please answer ne** _

_**Sans** _   
_**2:30 AM** _   
_**just ignor those messaged plz i'm sorry i'm so awkward abd weird i dun wanna lose u as a frind** _

As he kept reading, he could feel his stomach churning, and his face heating up like a radiator. Sans... Loved him? No, no, it must be the alcohol talking, right? He said he got hammered. Gaster didn't think he would even know what to do if it was true.

It didn't matter. He sighed. He didn't know what to do with this information, save for expect Sans to be late to work with a hangover tomorrow. They could talk about it then. This wasn't the first time he had asked the King to push back a paper deadline, and it probably wouldn't be the last.

Gaster had difficulty falling asleep that night.

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

The lab door finally opened some time after ten in the morning, and wordlessly, Sans walked over to his desk, his footsteps loud in the silent room. Gaster looked over at him as he sat in his chair. "You're late."

He didn't say it in a rude tone. His voice was rather monotone. He didn't want to give off the wrong vibe. Sans simply shrugged and nodded. "Slept in late. Hangover." He sighed. "I'm guessing you got my messages...?"

"Yes, I did." Gaster replied.

"What do you think...?"

Gaster tapped his pen on his desk. "I'm not sure what to think, if I'm honest."

Sans swallowed a lump forming in his throat. "You don't think I'm weird, do you?"

"No, I do not think you're weird." The scientist replied. "I just don't know what to think."

Sans nodded a little. "Me, either."

"Let's focus on work. That's why we're here. We can talk about this later."

"Yeah."

 


	11. Chapter Eleven - Talk It Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't fucking understand what the hell is wrong with this chapter, but I'm done trying to figure it out. The damn thng gets cut off at the end.
> 
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Jrs29H6PtuS5e2j7EyeU6ichzWzTB4KVrhodootuuZA/edit?usp=sharing there, have that.
> 
> Update: FINALLY FUCKING FIXED THIS CHAPTER LMAO

The lab door clicked as it closed behind the two, silence still engulfing them as it had all day. The scientist shoved the keys in his pocket, thinking on what to say. "Should we talk about this at your place?"

Sans hesitated for a moment. "I guess." He replied quietly. That was more than Gaster had gotten out of his assistant all day. It was good enough.

The ferry ride to Snowdin was silent, awkwardness and uncertainty was lingering over them. Every now and then, Sans would glance at his coworker, and vice versa; they exchanged a few looks of something. Maybe concern. Maybe something else. It was hard to tell. Gaster re-read the texts the younger male had sent him last night before putting his phone away.

They stepped off the ferry, and without warning, Sans teleported them both to his front door. Most people would have been shocked, and tried to get their barrings, but the scientist was too distracted to be phased. He opened the door, walking in as Gaster followed behind. The door clicked as it closed behind them.

"Papyrus." Sans looked at his younger brother, who stopped in his tracks, looking up at his older brother. "Go play upstairs, please."

There wasn't anything behind his voice. Not anger, not happiness, nothing. Papyrus nodded a little, as if understanding the gravity of whatever was going on, despite not knowing what. "Okay." The younger boy replied calmly. Weirdly out of character for him. He walked up the stairs, and closed his bedroom door behind him.

Gaster felt sick to his stomach. He didn't know how to start a conversation like this, and yet, words were escaping him before he could stop himself to think it over. "Did you mean it?"

"Of course I meant it." Sans answered quietly.

Gaster only nodded before silence took over again. As Sans went to say something, Gaster accidentally cut him off, so the other closed his mouth. "Why?"

"... What do you mean, 'why'?" Sans asked. He stared at Gaster with a confused, almost hurt look. "I don't know why, I just..." He fell short. "I don't know."

"How? We've only known each other for two weeks. I still barely know anything about you."

"I don't know all that much about you, either." Sans tried reasoning. "I don't know why." He repeated.

Gaster sat on the couch, resting his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands. "Well, what do we do?"

"I don't know...!" Sans said. Almost frantically. The scientist looked up at him. "You're the one who's been in a relationship, not me. How am I supposed to know how any of this works? I'm super confused right now."

Despite having not raised his voice all that much, and his tone not being all that frantic, Gaster figured this was the most worked up he'd ever seen the smaller male. Sans was usually calm, patient souls in general were calm. Here Sans was, red in the face (probably out of embarrassment), and raising his voice. All because of confusion. "Sans, calm down." Gaster replied calmly. "And obviously, I'm not good with relationships; hence why I'm not still with that person. I don't know what to do, either."

Sans visually seemed to cool off, his shoulders relaxing and his expression softening. "You aren't rejecting me..."

"If I was going to reject you, I would have done it earlier." Gaster said. "I don't have a reason to reject you. I... Feel the same way."

Sans looked at the floor to avoid eye contact. "Oh." Was all he could say.

"I want to talk about this."

"I... Uh..." He seemed unsure where to go from there. "What do we do with this...?"

Gaster ran a hand through his hair. "If I'm honest? I have no fucking idea."

Sans awkwardly shuffled his shoes on the carpet before sitting next to Gaster. He sighed. "Do we just, get together, or something?"

"I guess?" Gaster said, unsure.

"That's what people do when they like each other, right?" Sans asked.

"After two weeks...?"

"I don't see why not. People do it all the time... I think." He sighed again. "Look, I dunno. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing to consider?"

Gaster thought about it. "I don't want this to screw up any chance of us being friends."

"It won't." Pause. "Hopefully." He added.

"Why is this all happening so quickly?" Gaster laughed nervously.

"I dunno." Sans replied. He rubbed the back of his neck, smiling. "I have nooo idea."

"Oh, my gosh, just get together already!!"

Both looked up at the source of the noise. Papyrus was peering through the bars of the second floor balcony. He gasped, having been found out, before running back into his room. The door slammed behind him. They looked at each other again.

"Should we...?" Sans asked.

Gaster hesitantly nodded. "We'll never know if we don't try."

"O-okay..."

"We're together, then?"

"I guess...?" Sans said.

"Alright..." Gaster said. He felt like it was gonna take an hour or two for this to sink in. Maybe it might take more than that. "What now?"

"I don't know..." Sans said. "What do you want to do?"

"Go home, and try to process this." Gaster answered honestly.

Sans nodded a little. "I could use some time to process this, too."

Wordlessly, Sans and Gaster walked over to the door. They stood there for a moment silently. What kind of way were they supposed to say goodbye now? Gaster hesitantly opened his arms, and Sans stepped closer as the scientist wrapped his arms around him. Sans returned the gesture, resting his head against Gaster's chest. Or, rather, near the middle of his torso, since the height difference between him and Gaster was around two feet. Sitting down, Sans was lucky to come up to Gaster's hips. Gaster caught sight of Papyrus peering through the balcony again. "I think we have an audience."

"Yeah, I know Pap's there." Sans said. He laughed a little.

Gaster shook his head, hesitantly letting go of Sans. Sans seemed to take an extra second to let go. "Text me?"

Sans nodded. "Yeah." He opened the door for Gaster, who stepped outside, looking at Sans for a moment "I'll see ya at work tomorrow."

"See you at work." Gaster said. He turned around, walking away. He turned his head, looking back for a moment as he waved bye. Sans waved back before Papyrus appeared in the doorway next to him, visually excited as Sans directed his attention toward him. The door closed and Gaster looked forward again as he started his long walk home.

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

A few hours had passed since the conversation had taken place, and already the scientist had told Asgore and regretted the desicion to do so. The King was overbearingly happy for him to a point where it was embarrassing. Gaster felt like throwing his phone across the room. He refrained from doing so.

Facebook wasn't a site Gaster found himself on very often. In the past year, he'd maybe been on there ten times, if that. Still, he found himself opening his laptop and logging into his account. He had a friend request from Sans that he had neglected to accept up until this point. When Sans had asked why he hadn't accepted the request yet, Gaster explained he didn't go on very often. Sans understood, and they stuck to texting. Now that he was on, he found himself scrolling through the other's profile before his phone vibrated. He picked it up.

One new message.

_**Sans** _  
_**7:50 PM** _  
_**hey i see you accepted my friend request finally. you're on right now?** _

Gaster typed back a quick reply, and Sans found himself lunging for his phone as soon as he got the notification.

**_Gaster_ ** **_ <3_ **  
_**7:51 PM** _  
_**Yes, I am online as of right now. I'm scrolling through your profile.** _

He thought of a reply, and Gaster received the message right away as soon as Sans had sent it.

_**Sans** _  
_**7:52 PM** _  
_**cool. i'm gonna change my relationship status on there rn. cuz yknow.** _

Gaster refreshed the page a few minutes later. Sans' page now had an update. 'In a Relationship with Gaster Screen'. Already the update had a few likes, and comments. Grillby had commented that he was happy for Sans, Papyrus had commented that he knew they were gonna get together at some point, and Undyne had commented something pretty... Unique. Gaster wouldn't grace it with a description. He liked the post.

_**Sans** _  
_**7:58 PM** _  
_**i'm guessing you're not in the mood for talking rn** _

_**Gaster** _ **_< 3_ **  
_**7:59 PM** _  
_**Sorry, I got distracted.** _

It wasn't a lie. The fact that this was happening right now was overwhelming in a special kind of way. A distracting way. He was still on the fence on whether this was the right desicion or not. They'd only known each other for two weeks.

He sighed, closing his laptop as his phone went off again.

_**Sans** _  
_**8:01 PM** _  
_**oh okay. i think i'm gonna go to sleep early. i'm kinda tired. i'll see ya at work.** _

_**Gaster** _ **_< 3_ **  
_**8:01 PM** _  
_**Goodnight, Sans.** _

_**Sans** _  
_**8:02 PM** _  
_**night dings.** _

_**Sans** _  
_**8:02 PM** _  
_**i love you** _

_**Gaster** _ **_< 3_ **  
_**8:03 PM** _  
_**I love you, too.** _

Gaster's phone went off again.

_**King Fluffybuns** _  
_**8:03 PM** _  
_**I am sorry for having not texted you for a while, friend. I was helping Toriel bathe the children.** _

Gaster typed back a reply.

_**Marshmallow (Gaster)** _  
_**8:04 PM** _  
_**That's alright. I'm about to call it a night, anyways. Goodnight.** _

Gaster turned his phone off. He flopped onto his side on the bed, closing his eyes and falling asleep.


	12. Chapter Twelve - Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans swears he sees stuff flickering across the faces of the Royal Family. Stuff that he shouldn't be seeing, unbeknownst to him, for years to come.

Sans clocked in earlier than usual the next day; seven thirty in the morning, to be exact. He quietly set the mug of coffee down on Gaster's desk as the scientist looked up from his notes to his assistant. "Three sugar, two cream?"

"As always." Sans replied proudly. Gaster sipped the hot liquid, closing his eyes. "Is it good?"

"Of course." Gaster said as he sat the mug down. "You're early today."

"Science isn't gonna do itself." Sans said. He sat in his seat. "Besides, I gotta make up for all the missed work."

"Where's this sudden motivation coming from, lazybones?" Gaster chuckled. He sorted through papers as Sans rolled his eyes.

"Ha, ha, aren't you just a funny guy?" Sans smiled as he sorted through his own papers.

"No, I don't try to be funny. I am a serious guy."

"You drew a dick on my arm."

"It is a biological body part, get your mind out of the gutter."

Sans laughed a little, shaking his head dismissively. "You're unbelievable."

Work was slow, but productive throughout the day. Towards the midddle of the work day they'd started working on Gaster's machine again. As usual, Sans sat nearby to hand Gaster tools when he needed them.  "Screwdriver, please."

"Got ya." Sans said. He handed the screwdriver to Gaster.

"Thank you."

"It's almost the weekend again." Sans hummed. "One more workday to go."

"Mmhm." Gaster mumbled. "Do you want to do something this weekend?"

Sans blinked. "Uh, yeah, sure. What do you have in mind?"

"That movie we were watching seemed interesting." Gaster answered. "Didn't get to watch all of it."

Sans nodded. "Okay. Movie night. Cool." Something in the tone of the other's voice told Gaster that Sans was nervous about that, since it sounded like a date. He smirked a little.

"So, it's a date, then?"

Sans sputtered and stumbled over words for a moment as Gaster laughed. "Uh- yes? No? Yes? I guess? I-is it?" He paused. "It is, r-right?"

Gaster couldn't help but laugh at the other's endearing confusion. It was... Adorable, for lack of a better word. "Yes, I am asking you out."

Sans' face went impossibly red. "O-okay..."

The scientist fixed his glasses back into the bridge of his nose before something crossed his mind. "Oh, I need to check in with Asgore later. Remind me to contact him."

Sans nodded. "Will do."

Eventually, Sans did remind him, and Gaster sat in his seat, making nosies of frustration as he sent texts back and forth. Sans quietly busied himself reading some of the other's old notes. Jeez, science sure was something Sans... Mildly understood. Most of his knowledge was in the area of astronomy, chemistry, and quantum physics. Most other areas of the field... Only managed to confuse him.

Suddenly, Gaster slammed a book down on his desk. Startled, Sans' head whipped around to find the other looking spent. "Dings?"

"It's fine. I'm fine." Gaster said. Sans' concern etched its way into his face. "Someone undesirable messaged me. I'm fine."

"Oh... Okay. Uh, what did King Asgore say...?"

  
"We have a meeting with him later. It's not mandatory for you to come, but if you want to, you may." Gaster fixed his glasses as he picked up a few papers that had flown onto the floor when he had slammed the book down.

"When is it?"

"Four thirty." Gaster answered. "The meeting should be done before five thirty. They never run very long."

Sans nodded. "Yeah, I guess I'll tag along. Should probably meet the boss at some point. I'll just text Pap and let him know I'll be home a few minutes later than usual."

Pulling his phone out, Sans tapped a few things before a message was sent to his brother.

_**Sansational (big brother)** _  
_**3:20 PM** _  
_**hey, paps, i'm gonna be home a little later than usual. should only be a few extra minutes. love ya.** _

Papyrus read the text before replying back.

_**Papy** _  
_**3:20 PM** _  
_**Okie dokie big brother! Love you too!** _

Sans smiled before pocketing his phone.

Four twenty rolled around, and Gaster fixed his appearance (whereas Sans was fine showing up with his tie half undone and messy hair). The scientist of course, wouldn't stand for this, so he kneeled in front of his assistant and started fixing him like a mother fussing over a spot of dirt on her child's face. Sans scrunched his eyes tight in disapproval when the scientist started literally spit cleaning a spot on his cheek. "C'mon, mom, I look fiiiine."

"I am not being a mother about it, hush. You look indecent and grubby."

"Gee, thanks, mom." Sans huffed. The scientist moved the smaller male's hair out of his face, only for it to fall back into place. ... Good enough.

"Good lord, look at what time it is." Gaster said, looking at his watch. "We're not going to get there in time."

Sans raised an eyebrow. "I can get us to the other side of Hotland in five seconds."

"Do that."

Sans grabbed onto Gaster's hand, snapping his fingers. Without even blinking, they were right outside of the Core. Gaster stumbled a bit, not used to warping like that. "This is as far as I can get us."

"Close enough." Gaster said. He tugged on Sans, hand, who followed behind as he walked quickly. "Walk quickly, we have less than ten minutes."

After navigating around the Core for what felt like forever, they finally found their way to New Home. Sans looked around. They were on a grey walkway above the city. He could see people busily hustling below them as they walked. "There sure are a lot of people down there."

"Just don't fall." Gaster said. Sans quickly got away from the edge, continuing forward.

  
They came to a small, grey house. Was... This a part of the castle...? It didn't look all that big. Gaster knocked on the door, releasing Sans' hand as the other shoved his hands into his pockets. They waited for a moment before the door swung open. And suddenly, Sans was feeling smaller than usual. "Hello, Dr. Gaster."

The hefty blonde had spoken deeply but cheerfully, obviously happy to see Gaster. The only part of his appearance that was the most intimidating part of him was just how tall he was. He towered over Gaster. Who towered over Sans. Gaster cleared his throat. "I apologize for being late."

"Oh, it's fine." The king chuckled. He caught glimpse of Sans, who froze like a deer in headlights. "And who is this?"

"This is Sans. My assistant." Gaster replied. He looked at the smaller male, sensing his fear and unease.

"He looks shy." The king said, bending down more to Sans' height. "Don't worry, I don't bite."

Sans fumbled nervously with a clipboard and pen in his hands before dropping them. He could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks in embarrassment. "U-u-uh, hi." He said quietly. He picked the pen and clipboard up as Asgore fixed himself, standing up straight and tall. He barely fit in the doorway...

"Why don't you two come in?" He stepped to the side, and Gaster, without missing a beat, dragged Sans inside as the King walked. Gaster released Sans, who followed the King and his partner into what seemed to be a dining room living room combo. The King's children were sitting on a rug next to a fireplace, a chair sitting there as well and probably the prettiest woman Sans had ever seen sitting in it. She must be the Queen.

Something flickered in his vision for only a moment. Red. He blinked. "Sans?" Gaster was calling him. He looked at the other. "Are you going to sit down?"

  
"Um, yeah, sorry. I... Thought I saw something." He sat down in the chair next to Gaster, looking at the King, who seemed to be looking him up and down. As if he was analyzing him... It felt... Unsafe. He averted eye contact in an effort to get himself away from Asgore's judgeful eye.

"So, this is your assistant, Gaster?" The King asked.

"Yes." Gaster replied simply. "He is only here to tag along. He isn't going to understand a lot of this meeting."

Sans couldn't tell if Gaster was patronizing him, or if he really wouldn't understand. It was possible they'd be talking about something out of his field of knowledge. "Either way, I am happy to finally meet him." The king said, again, cheerfully. Sans wondered to himself why the King was so happy to meet him... But didn't press it.

When the Queen has asked them if they wanted anything, Asgore had insisted Sans try some of her pie. Gaster had said he only wanted coffee, and the King had asked for tea. The woman with white hair had gone into the kitchen, coming back a moment later, somehow balancing all the plates and cups. She sat next to Sans after sitting them all down.

The meeting ended eventually, and Gaster had been correct. He hadn't understood anything they had said. The King and Gaster said their goodbyes, and without warning, Sans teleported them both to the lab. Gaster stumbled a bit.

"Sans, what's wrong? You've been jumpy since we got there."

"Sorry, just..." Sans leaned against the wall of the building. He took in a few deep breaths. "I really embarrassed myself, and I kept... Seeing things."

Gaster sighed. "It's quitting time. Would you like me to walk you home?"

Sans nodded. They went back into the lab, clocked out, and started walking towards Snowdin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh I wonder what Sans saw
> 
> Your social anxiety is showing there buddy
> 
> I can't really remember why this chapter was in the book outline but uh I liked the idea enough to go through and write it. I'm not sure how this helps the story but I finished it so it's getting posted.
> 
> Gaster and Sans are gonna have a movie daaaate~ cuties
> 
> If you have any fanart, feel free to send it my way. I'm most active on Tumblr, Deviantart, Wattpad and Kik. Love you guys. See ya in the next chapter.
> 
> -Felix
> 
> Tumblr - crimsonfantrash  
> Kik - crimsonfandomtrash  
> DeviantArt - CrimsonFandomTrash  
> Wattpad - CrimsonFandomTrash


	13. Chapter Thirteen - First Time For Everything

Papyrus bounced up and down excitedly. "Like a date?"

"Yeah, like a date." Sans replied. He kept working on dinner. Papyrus giggled, clapping his hands. 

"Brother, that's so cool! You've got a date with the tall science man!!"

"And he'll be here any minute." Sans said. Papyrus could sense a bit of nervousness in his tone. Then his older brother laughed a little. "I'm really not ready."

"Do you want me to stay upstairs?" Papyrus asked. He figured his brother would appreciate some privacy with his new boyfriend.

"With all due respect, yes, please." Sans said. He plated some dinner for Pap before there was a knock at the door. Papyrus speedily grabbed a fork, running up the stairs and into his room with his food. Sans ruffled his hair and thanked him before he had run off, then walked over and opened the door, looking up. There stood Gaster.

Who was holding a rose in his mouth like in the movies, leaning against the doorway like a suave motherfucker. Sans bit his lip, holding in amused snickering as Gaster took the rose out of his mouth, laughing at his own ridiculousness. "I couldn't miss that opportunity, I know, it looked ridiculous." He handed the rose to Sans, who accepted it.

"No, no, it was cute." Sans objected. He stepped to the side, and Gaster walked in. "I just finished dinner, if you're hungry and want some."

"Yes, please." Gaster replied politely. Sans walked into the kitchen, setting the rose down on the counter as he made a plate of food for the other. When he cane back in the living room, he sat next to Gaster, who had already made himself at home. To be fair, he had spent more than an entire week here already. He handed the plate to Gaster. "Thank you."

"Remind me later to put that rose in some water." Sans said. Gaster nodded.

"Will do."

Gaster ate quietly as Sans sat there awkwardly, trying to think of a conversation topic. "Soooo, which movie were we watching?"

"I don't remember the title." Gaster replied. "You're a good cook, by the way."

Sans rubbed the back of his neck. "Only with that dish in particular. Spaghetti is Pap's favourite, and he can't quite reach the stove yet. So I have to make it. Everything else I suck at making."

"Well, I can't cook at all." The scientist said. "So, props."

"Uh, about Wednesday..." Sans trailed off. "That was the first time I had ever been in New Home. It's... A lot bigger than I thought it would be."

"The population of New Home is about four hundred people. Give or take."

Sans' eyes went wide. "We only have like, thirty people living in Snowdin. If that."

"New Home is about thirteen times more people."

"I don't think I would be able to handle that many people around me." Sans replied sheepishly. "I already don't like the fact that there's as many people in Snowdin as there are.

Gaster shrugged. "I'm not exactly happy living so close to so many people at once. I guess that's the biggest issue I have with my position."

"Well, you could move." Sans suggested. Gaster sighed, idly pushing a meatball on his plate around with his fork.

"I don't know, even though I don't really like it, I don't like change either. I'm comfortable with the... Discomfort, I suppose."

"Snowdin has a lot of empty homes." Sans replied. "If you ever did wanna pick up and leave New Home, it'd be easy to settle in here. I-if you wanted to, of course."

"I'll admit, I prefer Snowdin over Waterfall and Hotland." Gaster took a bite of his food, chewing and swallowing before speaking again. "There's such a tight knit community here. Waterfall is sparse in community members, and Hotland gets confusing with all of those puzzles, and it's too hot."

"It snows here all the time." Sans said.

"I know." Gaster said. "I don't think I'd mind that. I don't really get to see snow all that often. There isn't any weather in New Home."

"What do people usually do on dates, anyways?" Sans asked. Gaster shrugged.

"It depends. Usually on how many dates the couple has been on before, comfort level, etcetera." He did a rolling motion with his wrist. "You've never been on a date before, and I haven't been on one for years, and we've only been together since Tuesday. First dates are usually awkward."

"Check." Sans joked. Gaster laughed a little.

"At least it's not uncomfortably awkward."

"That's because we're used to being awkward by now." Sans said.

"... True." The scientist sat his empty plate on the coffee table in front of the couch. He  shifted in his seat so that he was facing Sans. "Do you still want to watch a movie?"

"Oh, uh, sure. Lemme just-" As he went to stand up, Gaster put his arm across the other's chest to stop him.

"I've got it." The scientist replied. Magic hands appeared near the VCR as Sans relaxed back in his seat.

Seeing the holes in the magic, skeletal hands just reminded Sans of the conversation he and Gaster had. He was still confused... How could someone impale both their hands? He supposed it didn't matter right now. Besides, he wouldn't be sure how to ask the other how it happened even if it were relevant right now.

Still, there were red flags waving in his mind about the scientist. He found it hard to focus on the movie. The lights off, the only thing illuminating the room was the television; and barely even that whenever there was a particularly dark scene in the movie. He found his gaze wandering up to Gaster every now and then, who seemed intent on finishing the movie. He wondered what Gaster was thinking...

The movie ended, and the lights came back on. Sans put his hands over his eyes for a moment to adjust himself. "That was an alright movie, hm?"

"Uh, yeah, totally." Sans agreed. Truth be told, he still hadn't been paying attention. Gaster raised an eyebrow. "I mean, I wasn't really paying all that much attention to the movie, but..."

"What's up?" Gaster asked. Sans felt a bit cornered, if he was honest. Somehow, being cornered by Gaster didn't feel all that intimidating. The smaller male rubbed his arm.

"Nothing, I'm just kinda distracted." He looked back up at Gaster. For a moment, he could have sworn he'd seen something flicker in his vision; he only caught a few details before it was gone again. He blinked.

"Sans?" Gaster looked worried. "You're spacing out again."

"Uh, what?" He rubbed his eyes. Normal. No more flickering images. Weird... The scientist put the back of his hand on Sans' forehead, and Sans felt the blood rush to his face.

"You don't have a fever..." Gaster hummed. "Still, it could be a bug. You do live in a cold area, after all. Traveling between here and Hotland can't be healthy."

Sans waved him off dismissively. "I get sick all the time. Really weak immune system. I've learned to live with it. It's no big deal."

Gaster just looked more concerned at that. "How often do you get sick?"

"Uh..." He blinked a few times again. "I dunno, just... A lot."

"Do you feel unwell?"

"No." Sans answered. He blinked a few times. "Just, uh, disorientated. I think it's cuz of the light... After being in the dark for so long. Don't worry. I'm fine."

He saw it again, but it was gone before he could even blink. Gaster's worry seemed to fade a bit, but concern still was obvious in his tone. "Alright..." The scientist checked the time. "It's getting late. Do you mind if I stay the night?"

"No, I don't mind. But, uh, if you don't wanna take the uncomfortable couch, you could take my bed. Pap cleaned my room, so it's not a disaster area, like it usually is." Sans answered.

"Okay, but then where would you sleep?" Gaster asked.

"I don't have any issues with the couch. I kinda like it." Sans replied. It was a lie. He also hated this couch. But, Gaster hated it more, and the scientist's legs always hung off the end of it. So he didn't want to make Gaster take the couch.

"Are you sure?" Gaster asked.

"I mean, unless you wanna sleep in the bed with me." Sans replied with a nervous laugh. It was supposed to be a joke.

"Okay."

And then he stopped laughing. "Uh, wait, really?"

The scientist shrugged. "I don't see why not."

'Because I snore, because I'm a blanket hog, because it's a twin mattress and there's two of us, because I sweat during the night' was what Sans wanted to say. Instead he just replied, "Uh, okay."

"Unless, you don't want to."

Sans frantically waved his hands dismissively. "No, no, it's okay, I wanna. If I didn't wanna, I wouldn't have suggested it in the first place."

"Hm. Okay." Gaster said.

"I just gotta get that rose in some water, and read to Pap. You go upstairs ahead of me. I'll see ya up there in a few." Sans replied. They both stood from the couch.

"I'll see you in a few, then."

Sans nodded. "Yeah." Not wanting to make eye contact anymore, Sans started going into the kitchen. Gaster didn't say anything else, and silently made his way up the stairs.

Sans splashed his face with some cold water. Fuck him if he didn't feel overwhelmed and overheated right now. "Right, right, you're fine, Sans. This is fine. It's not gonna be awkward. It's gonna be okay. Like in the movies." He felt like a fool comparing real life to movies, but sometimes his life felt fictional, anyways. "You're gonna read a story to Pap after getting the flower in some water, and then you're gonna go to bed, and you're gonna sleep next to him, and then you're gonna wake up. Just like any other night."

Out of lack of anything better to use, Sans picked up an empty soda bottle and filled it with water before putting the rose in there. It looked... Kind of cheap. But, he didn't have a vase, because they were unnecessary. There aren't flowers in Snowdin, anyways. He decided that was good enough before setting it on the kitchen counter and drying his face off with his shirt.

He climbed the stairs. Suddenly, he felt really tired, now that the initial panic was over. He read a few pages of Fluffy Bunny to Papyrus before the younger boy nodded off, then turned the light off and left the door open a crack. Now for the fun part.

After stalling another few minutes in the bathroom, Sans decided he couldn't make Gaster wait much longer without worrying him. He stepped timidly into the room, closing the door behind him. Gaster looked up at him from his phone. "It, uh, took a bit longer than I thought it would."

"That's fine." Gaster replied. Sans walked over, sitting on the bed next to the other as the blood rushed to his cheeks again. He'd already fallen asleep on Gaster's lap, he didn't know what to justify this reaction with. It was out of the ordinary and completely weird. He suppressed the feelings as well as he could.

"Guess it's time to sleep now."

"Yup."

"Is this awkward for you, too?"

"Yup."

"We're never gonna live this down."

"Yup."

Sans rubbed the back of his neck as Gaster laid down. "Uh, I've only ever shared a bed with my brother."

"I've only ever shared a bed with my brothers." Gaster replied. He shrugged. "I guess the only way of getting around it is to face it, head on."

That being said, Sans laid down next to him. As much as he wanted to not lay as close as possible to Gaster, that was basically impossible. He was already on the edge of the bed with his head nestled into the other's chest. Still... It felt... Nice. Awkward, but nice. It only felt better (and more awkward) when Gaster made the desicion to wrap his arms around Sans. Eyes half lidded, Sans yawned, cuddling closer. "Night, Dings..."

"Goodnight, Sans."

Sans had never fallen asleep so quickly in his life. Neither had Gaster. Still, the scientist made sure to turn off the flashlight in the lamp on the desk with his magic hands before dozing off.


	14. Chapter Fourteen - Golden Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster spills his guts out but Sans doesn't feel he's supposed to spill his own. The Dreemurr family is dealing with something that will shape the Underground forever.

"Wake uuuup!!!"

The scientist kept his eyes closed in an attempt to make Papyrus give up and go away. It wasn't working so far. Finally, Sans said something. "Bro, go play, or something."

Papyrus groaned in annoyance. "Lazybones! It's afternoon!"

"Afternoon on a Saturday. I ain't got nowhere to be. I'm stayin' in bed." Sans snuggled up closer to Gaster as Papyrus stomped out of the room, groaning in annoyance. "You awake, Dings?" Sans mumbled. The scientist nodded slightly.

"On the bright side, if the house caught on fire, Papyrus would make sure we don't burn to death. He'd wake us up." Gaster chuckled.

"Mm, I'd still stay in bed, even if the house was burnin' down. Fire is warmer than a blanket."

The scientist opened his eyes, aware now of just how close he and the smaller male were. "Wow." He chuckled.

Sans groggily looked up at Gaster, yawning. "How'd ya sleep?"

"Slept fine." Gaster replied simply. "Do you really plan on staying in bed all day?"

"Nah, I just wanted to annoy him." Sans snickered. "It worked."

"You are unbelievable, Sans." Gaster jokingly pushed the smaller male's shoulder. "A menace to society."

"Yeeeah." Sans agreed. He sat up before standing, stretching. Gaster internally cringed when he heard the other's joints click. Gaster sat up, reaching for his phone that lie abandoned on the floor next to the bed.

"Hm..." He hummed, flicking through his phone. "That's weird."

"What's weird?" Sans asked.

"Asgore usually sends me a good morning text. I don't have any new messages..." He kept flicking through his phone.

"Maybe he hasn't woken up yet?"

"No, he's always awake by ten." Gaster denied. "He always sends a text."

"Maybe he forgot?" Sans shrugged. "Or maybe he's busy. Or lost his phone, or somethin'. If somethin' bad happened to him, the entire Underground would know. Check Facebook."

Gaster flicked through the social media app as Sans got dressed, without finding much of anything. "Well, I think we can rule out something bad happening to him. There's nothing on Facebook." He turned his phone off, shoving it in his pocket. "Still, I'm a bit worried. He always sends a good morning text. There's never been a day where I haven't received one."

Sans shrugged again. "Sounds like there's nothing to be worried about. I mean, he does have kids. Kids are hard to take care of. He's probably just up to his beard in work, or something. He's fine."

"Yeah... Okay. You're probably right." The scientist stood, cringing internally when his own joints clicked into place.

"So, what are we gonna do today?" Sans asked. He was fixing his hair. And by 'fixing', that meant styling it so it was over his eye. The scientist frowned at the action, but held his tongue about it.

"I don't have anything planned." Gaster replied finally. "I suppose we could just do whatever comes to mind."

"Roll with the punches, got it. That's usually how I do stuff, anyways." He grinned, putting his hands behind his head. "Got any ideas?"

Gaster thought a moment. "Do you know sign language?"

Sans looked confused. "Uh, no. Why?"

"Do you want to learn? I could teach you."

"You know sign language?" Sans asked. Gaster nodded.

"My brothers and I learned it so that we could talk without letting our parents know we were home." He chuckled. "It was funny whenever she told us to shut up and then we'd talk behind her back, while she stood there oblivious."

Sans snorted. "That's great. And, uh, yeah, I'd like to learn." He sat back down on the bed, and Gaster did as well. "What do I do first?"

It was dinner time before either of them even knew it, and by that point, Sans had learned how to say a few basic words, including his name, in sign language. Gaster of course wouldn't admit if you asked him if it was cute to watch Sans struggle with fingerspelling out 'Papyrus', and forgetting how to make a 'P', so then it was just 'ayrus'.

Sans was of course the one cooking. Gaster couldn't cook to save his life, and Papyrus couldn't reach the stove. "You know your brother is probably not going to be very tall, right?"

"What makes you say that?" Sans asked curiously.

"You're not exactly tall, dark and handsome, Sans. Only the dark part."

"What about handsome?"

"No, you're cute, there's a difference." Gaster answered. "Either way, what I'm saying is that you're vertically challenged, and he's related to you. He is very short for his age already."

Sans' cheeks heated up at the whole 'cute' comment, but he ignored it. "Meh. He doesn't seemed too bothered by being short."

Gaster shrugged, but didn't say anything more. Sans sighed as he continued to stir the pan full of food.

"Saaaaans!!" Papyrus yelled from the living room.

"What's up, Pap?" Sans asked.

"I'm hungryyyyy!" Papyrus complained.

"Working on it, bro." Sans replied.

"Work on it faster, brother!"

Sans sighed again, shaking his head. He looked over at Gaster to find the other scrolling through his phone, a concerned look on his face. Finally, dissatisfied with whatever he found (or didn't), he shoved his phone back in his pocket. "Uh, you okay?"

"He still hasn't texted me." Gaster replied curtly. "Neither has Queen Toriel. I'm really starting to get worried."

"I'm sure they're both fine, Gast, don't get yourself so worked up." Sans hummed. Gaster slammed a fist down on the counter top, startling Sans.

"I am not worked up." He replied. His voice was weirdly monotone, considering. Sans didn't know how to approach the situation, so he remained silent. "I am going to go into the living room."

"O-okay..." Sans replied. "Feel free to start up a movie, if you get bored."

The scientist walked into the next room, and Sans felt relief wash over him. Stars, Gaster could be scary if he wanted to...

Sans finished dinner, and Papyrus cheerfully grabbed a plate before running upstairs and slamming his bedroom door behind him (not on purpose, he just had a bad habit of slamming doors). Sans and Gaster ate in silence for most of the meal. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Sans replied. "You're just scared, right?"

Gaster nodded. "He's never missed a day. He's always sent a text at some point during the day."

"I'm sure we'd know if something happened to him. I mean, he's our boss, and he's your best friend."

Gaster pushed his food around his plate with his fork. "I suppose..."

Sans looked over to him, and then to his plate. "Are you, uh, too scared to eat?"

Gaster sighed. "No, I just... Don't eat that much. Or usually at all. When I do, it's usually pizza, or it's been literally days since I last ate."

"That's probably not healthy..."

"I can't hold anything down." Gaster shrugged. "There isn't any point if my body is just going to reject it, anyways. The sight of food is sometimes enough to make me gag."

Sans was, again, in a position where he didn't know how to react. Gaster, on the other hand, was in a situation where he was silently screaming at himself to shut up. But, for whatever reason, he didn't. "That sounds horrible."

"It is." Gaster replied. He prayed to whatever god that might be listening that Sans didn't ask any other questions, he couldn't get himself to stop giving out information and he'd rather not talk about the heavy stuff.

There is no god, or they hate him. "Uh, so... Why is it you always talk so negatively about your mom and dad...?"

Gaster accidentally set his plate down on the table a little too hard, making a loud sound that startled both him and the other. He fumbled nervously with the sleeve of his shirt, vaguely aware of how tight the collar of the shirt suddenly felt against his neck. "I don't want to talk about that." He said shakily.

"Dings, I want to talk about this. I'm worried." Sans insisted.

"I really don't feel comfortable with this subject." Gaster denied.

"Please, I'm really worried... The things you say are really concerning."

Gaster bit his lip. Could he talk about that...? He had only told one other person about this, and it had taken years for him to open up about it to them. Sans put his hand on his shoulder, and he looked down at the smaller male, who had concern written all over his face.

... He took a deep breath in, heart pounding in his chest. He could do this... It was Sans. Sans wouldn't do anything. Sans would listen, and he would show that he cares... He hoped. "My parents weren't exactly... Mom and dad of the year."

"Why?"

"M-my..." He cleared his throat. Oh, God, please kill him now. "My father, he, uh... Neglected us. Though, now that I think about it, he did spend a lot of time with Kozuka..." He trailed off. "He didn't really ever do anything all that bad, but he didn't take care of us, o-or defend us from... Her..."

"Your mom...?"

Gaster nodded. "She used to... Beat my brothers and I. M-mostly me, she usually left Berlin and Kozuka alone... I was the runt, so I was the unplanned one..." Sans was hugging him now, and he clung back tightly. "I-I didn't do anything wrong, all I did was exist..."

Sans rubbed circles into Gaster's back. "It's okay..."

Gaster just hid himself in the hood of Sans' jacket. "And then she... K-killed them... When the Royal Guard came over, she made sure I didn't r-rat her out, and she made their death look like an accident..." He choked on a sob. "She pushed them down the stairs, and they d-died, and she got a-away with it, and I couldn't even tell the authorities...!" He didn't know why he was freely blubbering about this; he internally yelled at and begged himself to stop. He was being a burden. Sans didn't need to hear his sob story.

Sans, however, just hugged the scientist tighter, not knowing what to say. Gaster sobbed.

"A-and then I ran away, and I met Asgore, and he was my only f-f-friend, and now he's not answering me, so I'm just here wondering if he's dead or if he just h-h-hates me now, and-"

"Hey, hey, he doesn't hate you... And he ain't dead, either." Sans interrupted. "I'm sure he's okay..."

After the taller male finally calmed down, he spoke more. "She also... Is the reason there's holes in my hands. She held me to the wall with... B-bone attacks... Straight through my hands... She was going to kill me, too, but I survived... She didn't like that..." He swallowed a lump forming in his throat. "She also gave me the scars on my face. Which is why I don't like talking about them... I don't even know why I'm talking about this n-now..."

Sans patted the scientist's back. "You don't have to... Yknow, hide things... I wanna know more about you, and I wanna understand what I can say to help, and stuff, so... You can tell me anything."

Gaster nodded a little. "You can, um, tell me anything, too..." He replied quietly.

Sans silently mulled over in his head if right now was the right time to even open up about any of his problems after Gaster had just dropped a bomb like that. It didn't seem right... Gaster had obviously suffered more, his problems couldn't possibly amount up to the other's. He had nothing to complain about, didn't have the right to. It felt sickeningly selfish to even think about turning the conversation topic around to his issues. "I don't really have anything to say." He lied.

He had a lot to say. He just couldn't bring himself to talk about something as miniscule as going to bed hungry when Gaster couldn't even keep food down and had witnessed the death of both of his siblings. Talking about giving up childhood time to raise his brother would be selfish. Nothing but selfish. He absentmindedly found himself gripping the scientist's shirt. "Nothing noteable has ever happened to me, but uh... I'll let ya know if something does happen."

Another lie, and he knew it was. He knew if something happened and Gaster didn't experience it with him, he'd keep quiet. Gaster didn't say anything, all he did was nod.

The scientist's phone went off, and he was very quick to pull away from the embrace and scroll through it anxiously as Sans watched, confused. "Is it Asgore?" Sans asked.

"Yeah." Gaster answered. His eyes danced across the screen for a few moments, before he handed the phone to Sans. Sans read the text aloud.

"I am deeply sorry for having not contacted you earlier this morning, my dear friend, but in my blind panic, I had misplaced my phone. Due to the fact that it was on silent, it was very difficult to finally find it. Something came up, and I meant to inform you sooner, but communication was an issue. My child has fallen ill, and I am unsure as to if they will be okay. I will keep you updated on their well-being, please get back to me if you think you might know any way to help." He frowned at the text. "So the goat kid is sick."

Gaster nodded. "They may have caught that bug that's been going around New Home... Viruses are very hard to isolate and get rid of in such a cramped, shared space." He fixed his glasses. "Though, it's just a theory. They could have some other illness. I'm just speculating here."

Sans handed Gaster his phone back. "At least ya know King Fluffybuns is alive and don't hate ya." He leaned back on the couch as the scientist put the device back in his pocket. He searched for words for a moment.

"Thank you, for... Listening to me. I haven't told many people that story. Not even Asgore... And I feel a bit better."

"Why haven't you told Fluffybuns? If you tell him, he could get your parents jailed, or somethin', bring justice to them. Yknow?"

Gaster sighed. He slouched. "I didn't run away for very long. When I came back, her and my father weren't there anymore. They just... Vanished. So, then I was on my own. Kinda like you and Papyrus."

Sans nodded a little. "Except... You were all alone."

"For the most part, yes." Gaster replied. "Do you know Gerson?"

"Yeah, old guy in Waterfall. Sells Sea Tea and Crab Apples. Fought in the war, I'm pretty sure." Sans said. Gaster nodded.

"He basically raised me from the time I was twelve, up until I was fifteen, and working at the lab. Then, I became the Royal Scientist at sixteen, and he insisted I was ready to go off on my own. I suppose I was, but..." He paused. "I didn't really want to be on my own."

Sans rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I understand that." And then he caught himself. "Uhm, not that I'm really all that bothered. I've done just fine with just me and Pap, it's super easy once you get the hang of it."

Gaster wanted to push, but he didn't. He hoped Sans would come around and tell him in his own time. He knew the other was bothered, he just wouldn't admit it.

The night came to an end, and they both found themself curled up on the small mattress, arms wrapped around each other.

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

The young prince, Asriel, found it hard to stay asleep that night. His parents already in bed, and his sibling too ill to be awake, he stood from his bed and sneaked out of his room.

He wandered the house silently, stopping and sitting on the rug in front of the fireplace. The fire wasn't hot, just comfortably warm. He could stick his hand in, if he wanted to. He sighed, looking at the small, heart shaped golden locket around his neck. His sibling, Chara, had a matching one. The Delta Rune, which was the symbol of the humans trapped Underground, was gracefully carved into the necklace's surface.

He soon found himself wandering to the throne room, where his father, the King, spent most of his time. He looked at an ocean of yellow flowers that surrounded the throne, and found his soul beating in his chest.

These flowers were, after all, the reason his sibling was sick in the first place. He still remembered what they had said before they fell ill. That they had to die to free human kind, and that Asriel had to absorb their soul when they were gone. The prince knew in his heart that his sibling would be long gone by this time tomorrow, and that he would be absorbing their soul to cross the barrier.

He just hoped that he could do what he had to in order to save the Underground with his sibling.

In the living room was books arranged on a shelf, all stating the history of human and monster kind alike. Asriel vaguely recalled his father telling him about how their history was scrawled on the walls throughout the Underground. He pulled a book off the shelf and read to himself.

"Long ago, two races ruled over earth. Humans and monsters. One day, war broke out between the two races. After a long battle, the monsters were victorious. They sealed the humans Underground with a magic spell."

"It is a little late to be up reading, my child."

Asriel looked up, his mother standing in the doorway of the living room. "Oh, mom, I... Thought you were asleep."

"No, I'm afraid my nerves got the better of me. I am unable to sleep." Toriel kneeled on the ground next to her son. "It could hardly be called a war, honestly. Monsters were too strong, us humans, too weak. We didn't take a single monster soul in the end."

"Why did they attack?" Asriel asked.

"They were scared of us absorbing their souls. Their souls persist after death, unlike us humans." The Queen answered. She patted her son's shoulder. "You should go to bed, my child. We will talk about history some other time."

Asriel nodded, closing the book and putting it on the shelf. His mother kissed his forehead, and he went to his room, snuggling into his blankets and finally falling asleep.

The Queen stood in the doorway of her children's room a few hours later, her expression grim as her gaze focused mostly on the child whose breathing was a little too slow for her liking.

Chara needed a miracle to survive whatever was ailing them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooo sadness is what I'm best at
> 
> I'm sure no one is lost but to recap; human au. Humans are weaker. Humans got trapped Underground. Monster souls persist after death. Chara is sick. If you've played Undertale, you shouldn't be lost on where in the timeline we are. This is all pretty understandable.


	15. Chapter Fifteen - The Mountain King's Grief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Underground lost all hope that day...

One look outside the window revealed that the Underground looked bleaker than usual. Being in Snowdin, it was subtly, but visually obvious that the 'sky' was darker than usual, and the snow fell violently. Papyrus had been called by Undyne and told that she wouldn't be coming over today, since it was too rainy in Waterfall to want to leave the house.

Sans awoke to see that Gaster had already waken and left the room. Glancing at the time on his phone, he figured it had something to do with the fact that he had slept in until well after four in the afternoon. He put his slippers on before going downstairs.

Papyrus was sat by the window, cuddled in a blanket and watching the snowstorm outside. He seemed to be nursing a small, foam cup of hot chocolate. "Uh, hey, Pap."

Papyrus looked up at his brother. "Hello, brother. Look how snowy it is today."

Sans looked out the window, astonished at the rate the snow was falling. You could barely see outside. Speaking of which, the sudden darkness neglected by the Underground's usual magical glow felt foreign, almost hostile. He almost wanted to get under the blanket with Papyrus. This felt incorrect. "Oh... I don't think I've ever seen a storm like this."

The younger boy shrugged, sipping his hot drink. "I kinda like it. It's neat. Plus, there's gonna be a lot of snow when it stops." He grinned. "I'm going to make a snowman."

Sans nervously balled his hands into fists before fumbling to shove them in his short pockets. "Um, where's Gaster?"

"He's in the kitchen." Papyrus hummed.

He turned his head towards the kitchen to find Gaster pacing back and forth, thumbs quickly tapping on the screen. The scientist looked up as soon as he registered that his name had been mentioned in the room over. His eyes locked with Sans'. "Uh, what's got you so worked up, doc?" The smaller male asked.

Gaster sighed a little. "Asgore is in a foul mood... His child's illness is a bit more serious than anyone had thought. I've told him I'm unable to try to help without being able to leave the house. The weather in the Underground is all out of whack."

"I could... Maybe shortcut us to the castle?" Sans suggested. Gaster tapped his chin in thought before nodding in confirmation.

"Yes, I would appreciate that." He said. Sans looked at his younger brother, who still stared out the window, enamored with the weather.

"Bro, we're going somewhere. Stay here, okay?"

"Okie dokie." Papyrus replied. Sans walked over to Gaster, holding onto the other's shirt before teleporting to outside the royal family's house.

It took a moment for Gaster to adjust to the sensation of teleporting; he reckoned he'd probably never get entirely used to warping from one place to another. He couldn't exactly complain, though. Hastily, he knocked on the door.

The pair heard heavy, slow footsteps before the door finally swung open. There stood King Asgore, appearance dishelved in nature. His hair was messy, as if he had woken up just now, and he looked grim. His expression shifted in the slightest when he took notice of his dear friend. "Dr. Gaster, I thought you were stuck inside because of the weather?"

"I was with my assistant, and he knows a shortcut." The scientist put a hand on Sans' shoulder, who felt very suddenly small again. "How can I help?"

Sans didn't pay much attention to the next few sentence, but the usual boom of the King's voice when he spoke grabbed his attention. "Come, this way." The burly, taller man led him and Gaster to a door in the house. Only Gaster and Asgore walked in, the Queen walking out a moment later, a grim expression also burned onto her features. This place felt so gloomy...

"Oh, you came with Dr. Gaster?" She asked Sans. He nodded.

"Yeah, I know a, um... A shortcut." He replied uneasily. He didn't feel right talking to the Queen...

Queen Toriel smiled sadly, rather than any other reaction that Sans could think up. "Would you like to sit and have some tea?"

Sans nodded uncertainly. "Um, yes, please."

He followed her down the hall to the living room. "Make yourself at home." She said. He sat at the table before she came out a few moments later with some things for tea. She silently poured him a cup of the steaming hot liquid before sitting at the chair across from him. He sipped the tea, cautious to not burn himself.

"Thank you." He said quietly, setting the cup down gently.

"It is no problem." She said. She poured herself a cup of tea, stirring the liquid with a bored expression.

"I hear the kid's sick..." Sans muttered. "Do you know why they're sick?"

"We have no idea." Queen Toriel replied sadly. "We do not think there is much hope of their survival. They're just getting sicker... We're preparing for the worst."

Sans nodded a little, empathy resonating in him. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It happens to the best of us. We can only hope that our dear Asriel does not meet the same fate as them... It would be devastating to lose both of them." She sighed. "I am afraid that he will also fall ill. He spends a lot of time near his sibling."

Sans idly nodded, playing over in his head how he'd feel if his brother was on his deathbed... It hit too close to home. "I can't imagine what this feels like..."

The two sat in relative silence for a while before the door clicked open. Sans looked down the hall to see Gaster walking towards the living room. He stopped a few feet away from the table. "Queen Toriel, I am sad to announce that there is nothing I can do for the child." His voice was sure, smooth. Almost monotone. Sans felt it sounded familiar to the way he had spoken yesterday.

"I understand. Thank you for coming." The Queen spoke quietly.

"I am hoping that they can recover from whatever it is that is ailing them, your Highness."

"I am, as well. Thank you, dear friend." She stood, putting a hand on Gaster's shoulder.

"My assistant and I will be taking our leave now. Please keep me updated on the child's state." She pulled away from him and he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I will. Take care." She walked down the hall to the room, and Sans looked up at Gaster.

"Come on, Sans." Gaster said. The smaller male stood, holding loosely onto the scientist's shirt before warping them home.

Papyrus stood, rushing over to both the scientist and his brother. He opened his mouth to speak- and then time jumped back. Sans blinked.

Weird. Papyrus had already stood up and came over to them, hadn't he? He shook his head a little as the younger male began to speak. "Welcome home, brother, and Mr. Scientist guy...!" The child grinned, hopping up and down.

"Hey, bro." Sans replied. He ruffled the younger's hair, Papyrus answering to the gesture with a giggle. He went and sat back down in front of the window.

"It's still snowing. I think it's gonna block our door."

"So, you mean we'll be-"

" _Don't_." Papyrus said firmly. "Don't you even _dare_ finish that sentence."

" _Snowed in_." Sans grinned victoriously as his brother hid his head in his hands, groaning in annoyance. The scientist laughed a little.

"Brother, nooo!! That was horrible!!!"

The older brother simply shrugged. "There's more where that came from."

Papyrus huffed in annoyance, crossing his arms. "Puns are horrible. I don't like them."

"Sorry, Pap, you're gonna have to deal with 'em."

Papyrus sighed in defeat, rolling his eyes. "Fine."

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

Not that long ago, a child climbed Mount Ebbot. Legend said that monsters foolish enough to climb the mountain never returned. Equipped with nothing, and fully knowing the consequences, a small monster named Chara climbed this mountain with no intention of returning to their home. However, they tripped on a vine, falling in a hole in the mountain and into the Underground where the humans had been locked away by their kind so long ago.

Injured by their fall, the small monster called out weakly for help. The young prince, Asriel, found them and brought them back to the castle where his mother and father, the King and Queen, dressed their wounds and invited them to stay in their home. Hope had been restored in the Underground.

Chara, who had laughed to ignore their pain when the King had fallen ill due to their own mistake, now plotted their own demise with the same golden flowers. Their brother, Asriel, helped them with this plan. They planned to save human kind and break the barrier with Chara's sacrifice.

When the child's life had finally ended, their soul lingered. The King and Queen did not. Asriel did. Knowing what he had to do, the small prince absorbed their siblings soul, his heart heavy with grief, but he pressed forward. When he reached the room the barrier was, he stepped through, and into the sunshine, carrying Chara's body. Their last request had been to see the flowers in their town.

When the monsters had seen Asriel carrying the child, seeing how he looked convinced them that he had killed them and absorbed their soul. As much as Chara's soul reached out to their brother's to fight back and defend himself, Asriel did not listen. He turned, still being attacked with hit after hit, and stumbled home.

When he reached the garden, Asriel collapsed, his sibling's body falling in front of him. Asriel took a few more breaths before he, too, died there, in the garden.

Hope was once again lost. The monsters had taken everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooo I finished this and it only took me another almost two weeks to update it *sweats*
> 
> You know the drill. Remember to leave kudos, comment, and follow, if you like. Have you drawn/have interest in drawing fanart for this fic? Send it my way using any of my social media listed below. 
> 
> Kik: crimsonfandomtrash  
> Tumblr: crimsonfantrash or crimsonfandomtrash   
> Instagram: crimsonfandomtrash
> 
> Basically almost everything I have has the name 'crimsonfandomtrash'. Even my deviant art, my art amino, my undertale amino, everything. Feel free to send stuff my way, or just strike up a conversation. I'm almost always online so I should reply unless I'm busy doing something (also my power might get cut on Monday (8/28/17) but that's besides the point).
> 
> Anyways, yeah. Bye.


	16. Chapter Sixteen - Mourning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short, shitty chapter letting you know what's going on Underground now that the Prince and his sibling have passed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is so short and shitty but I can't look at it any longer so just take it
> 
> Fanart? You know the drill. Please remember to leave a kudos, comment and give me a follow, if you'd like. 
> 
> \- Felix

Blissfully unaware, Papyrus played outside in the deep snow. The scientist had long since gone home, and Sans tried his damnedest to rationalize why it was he felt so dead without the other here. Then again, everyone in the Underground was miserable right now.

Well, he thought, looking at his brother who had just finished making a snow angel. Almost everyone. On days like this, when he was feeling miserable for no particular reason, he'd usually slice his skin up to cope. He found it hard to bring himself to do that now with Gaster in his life. The other male had already made a huge deal out of Sans not doing that anymore.

The King had called Gaster early this morning before the scientist had left. The conversation had lasted for longer than Sans would expect, but once Gaster had hung up, he made it clear in his tone that the worst had occurred. "King Asgore says we needn't show to work for a week or two."

So the kid hadn't made it, and, as Sans found out later from Facebook, the prince Asriel had perished as well, attacked mercilessly by the monsters on the surface. Sans nodded solemnly, without much to say. "Okay." Gaster slowly pushed his arms through the sleeves of his trench coat. They silently walked to the door and Sans opened it for him. He stepped out into the snow. "Will I see you again before we have to go back to work?"

The scientist reached out, encasing his partner's hand in his own for a moment before letting go again. "Of course. I enjoy your company."

Sans felt a bit too melancholy to appreciate the gesture, which was understandable. He smiled dimly. "I enjoy your company, too."

Silence ensued for a few moments, before the scientist cleared his throat. "I will text you when I get home."

"Okay." Sans replied. He locked eyes with Gaster for a brief moment. "Have a safe walk."

Gaster nodded. "Of course." He turned around, walking off. Sans watched him for as far as he could see before closing the door.

As he now sat on the porch with a cup of hot chocolate in hand, watching his brother play in the snow, his phone went off in his pocket.

_**Gaster <3** _   
_**5:33 PM** _   
_**Sorry I took so long to reply back. I had to check on Asgore. I am safely home now. I'm thinking about calling it a night early.** _

Gaster's phone went off only a moment later.

_**Shorty (Sans :P)** _   
_**5:34 PM** _   
_**yeah thats fine. i'm pretty tired too. might also call it a night. not feelin my best.** _

He typed a reply back.

_**Gaster <3** _   
_**5:34 PM** _   
_**Goodnight, I love you.** _

His finger hesitated over the send button for a moment. He sighed, pressing the button.

As much as he was sure about his feelings for Sans, it was still a foreign concept... He'd never really said that to very many people before this.

_**Shorty (Sans :p)** _   
_**5:35 PM** _   
_**night, love you too.** _

He especially wasn't used to recieving those words back. He felt a chill go through his body as he turned the device and set it on his bedside table. He flopped back on the mattress with a sigh.

Closing his eyes, he tried his hardest to sleep, not succeeding very well.

Sans, meanwhile, lay on his mattress, staring up at the ceiling. The light was off in his room, so it was basically pitch dark. You wouldn't have been able to see your hand in front of your face very well. He lay in the dark, eyes wide open. He waited for fatigue to take over. When that didn't happen, he sat up, hugging his knees to his chest.

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

A few days had passed since the passing of the royal family's children. It wasn't really a family anymore... Rumor even had it the Queen was leaving. Where to, and when, nobody knew. All anybody knew was that she wasn't happy with how the King was taking this. He had claimed that every monster that fell down here was to be treated as an enemy, and that they would slowly collect all the souls they needed from their kind to go to the surface and start a war. Anger filled his voice as he let his guards know, a new fear of King Asgore twisting their ways into the soldiers' souls like weeds wraveling their ways on the branches of another plant, trying to choke it out.

Try as she may to suggest a peaceful alternative, or at least something that would get them out of the Underground faster, the King refused to listen. He was set in his ways about doing this the way he had said. So rumor spread fast that Queen Toriel was probably going to leave the throne. The rest of the Underground was infuriated with the monsters for taking dear Asriel with his sibling, Chara. They agreed with Asgore's plan to wreak havoc on monster kind.

When the news had finally spread to the schools about all this tragedy, Papyrus had walked home, slowly. When he got in the door, he quietly worked on his homework as his older brother cleaned the living room. Sighing, Papyrus put his pencil down, looking up at his older brother. "Sans...?"

"Yeah, bro?" Sans responded.

Papyrus battled to find words to say until he finally opened his mouth and spoke. "Why does King Asgore want to kill lotsa monsters?"

The older brother shrugged, throwing a few stray articles of clothing into a wash basket. Normally, he wouldn't clean, but normally he wasn't feeling this intense need to sleep. As much as he wanted to kick back, relax, and sleep the day away, he had responsibilities. After all, Papyrus wasn't gonna raise himself, and this room definitely wasn't gonna clean itself. "I dunno, Pap. Things are... difficult for the King at the moment."

"Oh." Papyrus hummed back. His usual enthusiasm seemed to be lacking. Perhaps the miserable aura everyone was giving off was finally catching up to him. Either way, the older brother didn't like how quiet Papyrus sounded. Without missing a beat, however, Papyrus changed the topic to something a bit less miserable. "What's for dinner tonight?"

"Grilled cheese and tomato soup." Sans answered.

"Yum." Papyrus replied. With a sigh, Sans finished up cleaning the living room and got to work on making dinner. As he stood in the kitchen, waiting for everything to finish cooking, he scrolled through his phone. Nothing of interest to note, but then again, the only times his phone made it's presence known was when Gaster was messaging him.

Speaking of Gaster, the other hadn't messaged or called for a few days now. He wondered what the scientist was up to...

When he finished plating dinner up, he took his food to his room. The light in his room flickered as he ate. Looking out his window, all he could see was snow. Lately, light snow had turned into storms. Thank the stars for the Snowdin Sentries, who cleaned the massive piles of snow away, so that society could function, and they wouldn't actually be snowed in.

Sans got about halfway through his sandwich and bowl of soup when his appetite failed him, and his phone went off. Almost at the speed of light, he whipped it out of his pocket, eagerly pressing the power button. As the screen came to life with light, he dragged the notification bar down.

One new text.

He clicked the notification, and the chat came up on the screen.

_**Gaster <3** _   
_**7:48 PM** _   
_**I apologize that I have not talked to you for a little while now. I had to stay with Asgore. I'm thinking of coming by tomorrow. I'll see you then.** _

His eyes danced across the screen as he read. Butterflies fluttered in his stomach as he replied.

_**Shorty (Sans :p)** _   
_**7:49 PM** _   
_**yeah, thats okay i'll see you then** _

He put his phone back in his pocket, finishing the rest of his meal.


	17. Chapter Seventeen - The Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster and Sans go on an actual proper date, and interesting events insue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Musical inspiration for this chapter is Oh Ms. Believer by Twenty One Pilots. It is recommended to listen to this song on loop, at medium to low volume as you read on, as it creates a better atmosphere.
> 
> Just a quick note before the chapter, I would like to take a moment to say HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY, UNDERTALE! Undertale turned 2 years old (September 15th, 2017) and I can't be happier that I've found a game that I can latch onto so well with its vibrant story, and quirky, memorable characters. Kudos, Toby Fox, for making a game that still warms my heart to this day, and probably will for years to come.
> 
> With that said, enjoy the chapter.

Sans awoke with a start, his eyes darting around the room as he held back a panicked scream, his breathing erratic. The room was filled with the brightness of daylight, or at least, the closest thing they had to daylight in the Underground. He laid back down on his bed, letting himself relax. It was just a bad dream...

Before long, he decided it was time to get up. There was no point in trying to get back to sleep. It was a miracle that he'd slept as long as he did. He reached over the side of his bed, picking up his phone. The bright screen blinded him as it turned on.

6:53 AM. Too fucking early for this shit.

He slid his thumb across the dots on the screen, his phone unlocking with a click sound. He pulled down the notification bar.

One new message.

He clicked the notification and was immediately brought to his and Gaster's chat.

_**Gaster <3** _  
_**6:09 AM** _  
_**Message me when you're awake.** _

With compliance to Gaster's request, Sans typed out a text, to the best of his ability. He was still shaken from that dream, and his vision was blurry from having just opened his eyes.

_**Shorty (Sans :p)** _  
_**6:55 AM** _  
_**i'm awakenow. feel free to come overwhen ever.** _

Better get up... Unenthusiastically and lethargically, he eventually managed to pull himself out of bed, and into the bathroom. A look in the mirror told him his hair was a mess, and a cold sweat ran down his face. Must've been a really bad nightmare... He just couldn't remember what happened. The hairs on the back of his neck and his arms were standing on end, and his bare feet felt uncomfortably cold on the tiled floor of this room. Still, he managed to brush his messy mop of hair and splashed his face with water a few times before actually taking a shower. He couldn't remember the last time he had showered.

The water stopped, the temperature dials creaking as he turned them towards each other. He grabbed the towel hanging on the door and wrapped it around himself, going into his room and getting dressed. A long sleeved white t-shirt and white striped black track pants. Most of his wardrobe consisted around long-sleeved shirts for a surplus of reasons, and though most people used sweatpants for working out, he just wore them because they were baggy and comfortable. The blue, fur-lined jacket he'd had since childhood hung neatly on a hook on his bedroom door. He reached up, just barely able to reach it, taking the jacket down off its hook and slipping his arms through the sleeves. Today was definitely a jacket day, as an uncertain, merciless chill still hung in the air. His phone went off.

One new message.

As per routine, he clicked the notification, and, no surprise, was taken to his and Gaster's chat.

_**Gaster <3** _  
_**7:34 AM** _  
_**I am in Snowdin now. I'll be there soon.** _

Instead of typing a reply, he simply closed the chat app and shoved the device into his pocket. Not bothering with socks, he slipped on his pink, fuzzy slippers and descended the stairs.

Almost as soon as he set foot in his living room, a knock on the door sounded throughout the quiet, still slightly dark house. He walked over, unlocking the door and turning the knob. He looked up.

There stood Gaster, his hands shoved into his coat pockets, and a weary expression on his face. Not that it was unusual for him to look like that. It was merely an observation that the other pushed to the back of his mind as he stepped to the side to allow room for his partner to walk into his home. Wordlessly, Gaster did walk in, and Sans closed the door behind them, the room becoming darker again. "It's good to see you again."

"You, too." Gaster replied quietly. He slipped his coat off, and Sans took note that the other wasn't wearing a button down shirt and a tie, but rather a light gray turtleneck that hugged his slim body, the thick fabric resting just perfectly on his shoulders. Sure looked warm. Sans hung the coat for the other, keeping his eyes focused on his guest.

"What have you been up to the past few days?"

"Staying with the King, mostly. He isn't really in any state to be alone right now, but I couldn't really be there for him any longer. I've never seen him more pissed off at the world..." The scientist shuddered a little, and Sans couldn't help but get the feeling that Asgore had probably scared Gaster away with his rage.

"I heard the Queen was thinking about leaving. Is that true?" Sans asked.

"Yes, she's not very happy with Asgore's bleak vision for the future... Monsters are now to be treated as enemies, and he plans to collect seven souls and then break the barrier."

"Guess freedom isn't as close as we once thought." The smaller male mumbled.

"Queen Toriel spoke to me yesterday in private, and then she started packing a suitcase. She fully intends to leave him. I can't really blame her if I'm honest. I couldn't even stay there to try and talk to him calmly. He's furious." Gaster sat on the couch leaning back into the cushions as Sans sat beside him.

"Well, I think anyone would be kinda pissed if they lost both their kids in one night. I can't even imagine what I'd do in that kind of situation." He shrugged a little.

Gaster sighed, fixing his glasses. "Still, he's taking it very harshly, and he's taking it out on anyone who tries to sympathize with him. Not to mention the fact that declaring war on the monsters is a horrible idea. We lost the first time because they're stronger. What makes him think now will be any different?"

Sans shrugged again. "I dunno..." He said.

Gaster shook his head. "But, anyway, I didn't come here to discuss the King's well-being. I came here to see you." He rested his eyes on Sans, who kept eye contact. "What have you been doing?"

"Not much of anything." Sans answered honestly. "I don't really have much to do when I'm not at work, or when you're not here."

An awkward silence fell over them both for the longest moment before Gaster cleared his throat. "I came over to ask if you maybe wanted to go somewhere with me, sometime."

Sans blinked. "Like another date?"

"Yes." Gaster replied.

"Sure." Sans said.

The scientist paused for a moment, before stammering out a reply. "Uh, o-okay, pick a time and place."

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

Despite not being particularly fond of making decisions, Sans had insisted Gaster be the one to name the time and place. Try as he might to get Sans to choose, the shorter male kept insisting. They were both easy to satisfy, but still, Gaster worried his ideas of a date wouldn't be the best. 

He knocked on Sans' door, butterflies in his stomach. When the door creaked open, the scientist could have sworn his heart rate must have jumped up a few beats per minute. His gaze rested where he knew Sans' eyes came up to; just below the pegs on the coat rack next to him. The scientist had to do a few double takes before he stammered words out finally. "I... Wow, you... you have your hair out of your face." He internally punched himself. Such a mundane and not at all direct way of saying what he actually wanted to. The thing he actually meant was 'I can see your face, and holy shit you're cute'.

As if to tease him, or perhaps not even knowing just how mind-numbingly adorable he looked, Sans timidly brushed a bit of his hair behind his ear. "Yeah, my brother gave me a haircut... He's good at that kinda stuff."

Gaster felt his face burning. Stars, he was suddenly very hot, despite the chill that lingered in the Snowdin air, and the fact that his coat was unzipped, exposing him to the element. He cleared his throat, his voice cracking as he spoke again. Across the room, he could see his partner's younger brother smiling mischievously.  _He knew_. "W-well, um, would you care to join me, then?"

"Yeah, lemme just... Grab my jacket..." Sans replied with a soft smile. As he went over to his lumpy, uncomfortable couch to grab his jacket, the redheaded child came into sight, whispering to Papyrus as they both giggled. Gaster frowned. These children had set it up purposefully so that he would be flustered...! How absurd...! He was an important businessman, with a busy schedule, and here he was, getting set up by middle schoolers! It'd been obvious to him the entire time that Gaster had been acquainted with Papyrus and Undyne that they knew about him and Sans, but he never thought it would go as far as them actively trying to mess with his head.

Sans came back into view, and he immediately forgot his annoyance towards the children. Sans turned towards them as he slipped his arms through the sleeves of his blue hoodie. "Undyne, you're in charge. Grillby's number is on the fridge, mine is in your phone. Pap, you also have Gast's number too, yeah?"

"Uh huh, sure is." Papyrus said with a giggle.

Sans continued on. "Don't leave the house unless absolutely necessary, don't let him have candy until after dinner, don't open the door for anyone that isn't me, Grillby, or Gaster. There's leftover pasta in the fridge, just-"

"I've got it, nerd, don't worry." Undyne grinned toothily, sparing Gaster a glance as he further solidified the theory that she and Papyrus had purposefully made Sans cuter just to fuck with him. "Just go have fun, okay? I've babysat this brat enough times, you don't need to tell me again."

Papyrus didn't even seem to mind being called a brat. "Yeah, go with your booooyfriend...!" He dragged the last word out and Gaster internally cringed when the younger boy and his friend started making mock kissy noises at them. His face probably physically could not have flushed any deeper of a red than what it was now. Sans flushed a few nice shades of pink himself before he laughed nervously, and without saying anything else out of lack of a rebuttal, stepped into the cold with Gaster, shutting the door behind him. He looked sheepishly up at the other.

Again, Gaster could feel his heart rate increase. "I'm sorry about them... They're, uh... both a handful and a half."

The scientist sighed, a small cloud showing in front of his face. It was cold. He adjusted the backpack on his back. "It's alright. Are you ready?"

"Lead the way." The shorter said. Impulsively, but fidgety, Gaster reached for the other's hand. His panic subsided when Sans returned the gesture, intertwining his fingers with Gaster's without a moment's hesitation. It sent a jolt of warmth through his soul and an exhilarating chill down his spine. He walked toward the edge of town, Sans keeping good pace right by his side.

"I see you dressed warmly." Gaster hummed.

"Yeah, you told me I should. So I did. Where are we goin'?" He looked up at his partner.

"I was thinking we could just chill in the woods, away from people. I packed a picnic." The other replied shyly. 

"Classy." Sans said. "I likey. No people, just you, me, and the trees."

"I'm glad you like the idea." Gaster replied. Sans swung their arms as the walked, his gaze seemingly fixed on the freshly fallen snow as they walked."I really needed to get out... The King has had me under a lot of stress ever since..."

"Did the Queen end up leaving him, then?" Sans asked curiously.

Gaster nodded solemnly. "It can't be helped for... This tragedy really has shaped the future. She didn't wish to be a part of that future. No one has seen her since yesterday, but it's been confirmed that she's safe."

"That's good... She was really nice. The kind of stranger who treats you like an old friend, y'know?"

Gaster nodded. Yeah, those words described Queen Toriel better than anything else he'd ever heard about her.

As used to seeing him with slippers as he was, Gaster was glad Sans had the common sense to wear snow boots. He hadn't himself, but his thick, combat boots still did the job. The pair trudged through fresh, sparkling white snow, leaving footprints behind their every step. The crunch of twigs and snow underneath their feet, coupled with the soft breeze that blew through and whistled in the emptiness might have created a spooky atmosphere if they'd been alone. 

A cloud of condensation appeared each time either of them breathed out, and snow drift blew from the branches, swirling through the air as it made its way toward the ground. Purple eyes gazed through the light darkness of the cold forest, and he found himself staring. Sans looked around in silent awe of the beauty of the dark winter wonderland. "It's really nice out here..."

The scientist nodded a little, taking in the sight. "Yeah... Breathtaking."

The pair kept walking, and Gaster justified in his head that they could have stopped, and he could have set up the picnic just about anywhere. He supposed he was just looking for an excuse to make this last as long as he possibly could. The lingering fact that they would have to part ways at the end of the night didn't sit well with him. Still, he found himself glad that he had decided to keep walking, as they eventually stumbled upon a clearing that had a perfect view of the stones embedded in the cavern ceiling. Makeshift stars, as he recalled. If they were gonna be stuck Underground for God knows how much longer, this was the closest they would ever get to real stars.

Sans looked absolutely captivated by the way the stones shimmered in what the Underground called moonlight. Again, they didn't have actual moonlight. Much like the sunlight, the moonlight down here was artificial. It didn't seem to come from any direct source, but the world was still bathed in darkness with the presence of a bright, bluish white glow. This artificial light made the stones on the ceiling of the cavern have a glow of their own. It was, to say the least, beautiful.

Gaster, despite also being infatuated by the sights before him, took time to let Sans enjoy it while he took the backpack off his back, taking a blanket out of it and laying it on the ground. "This is such a neat place." Sans said finally, still looking around. Gaster nodded in agreement as he took the other things he had packed out of the bag that now lay empty on the blanket.

"Yes, it is." He said. As Sans looked over to Gaster, he noticed the other had already finished setting up for their picnic. He joined Gaster, kneeling onto the blanket and situating himself to sit in front of him. The blanket, despite being thin, kept the snow underneath at bay, preventing them from getting cold from simply sitting on the ground. Gaster, meanwhile, picked up what looked to be a very tall cup made of metal. 

"What's that?" Sans asked. He was, of course, referring to the funky looking metal cup. He'd never seen anything like it.

"It's an insulated cup. It keeps hot drinks hot for longer." Gaster explained. He pulled styrofoam cups out of the backpack and handed one to Sans. Carefully, he opened the lid of the cup and poured some of the liquid into his and Sans' cups. Steam rose from the cup, and Sans looked down at the hot, brown liquid. 

"Hot chocolate?" He asked, curiously.

Gaster nodded. "Precisely."

Sans sipped his drink as Gaster took a sealed container out of the backpack, setting it on the blanket. In the container, was something he had never seen before. Even still, he knew what it was. "Pizza?"

"You said you'd never had it... I figured you could try it." Gaster replied. Sans nodded a little as the scientist opened the container, setting the lid on the blanket.

"So, is it like, finger food?"

"'Finger food'?" Gaster asked.

"Yeah," Sans said. "like chicken nuggets or french fries. Stuff you don't need a spoon or fork for. Finger food."

"I have never heard it been called 'finger food' before." Gaster said with a chuckle. "But yes, pizza is finger food." He picked a slice up before holding it out to Sans. Unsure how to go about this, Sans fumbled awkwardly to get the slice in his hands the way Gaster had been holding it. He eventually managed. "Try it." Gaster said.

Sans bit into the slice, cheese, and sauce messily stringing behind as he pulled the slice away. It got all over his mouth. Gaster had to refrain from laughing as he took a napkin out of the backpack, wiping the mess away from his partner's mouth. Sans felt the heat rise to his cheeks. His mouth still full of pizza, he spoke; "I don't see what the big deal is." He chewed and swallowed. "I mean, people make a big deal out of it, but it's not really that spectacular."

"You don't like it?" Gaster asked.

"I mean..." He paused. "I like it, I just don't understand why people make such a big deal outta it." He shrugged, taking another bite.

"Note taken." Gaster said. They ate in relative silence. Gaster had packed six slices of pizza, three slices for the both of them. He, of course, didn't get past the second slice, and neither did Sans, surprisingly. They both laid down on the blanket with their cups of hot chocolate, staring up at the cavern ceiling that hung close to the ground. The stones on the ceiling continued to shimmer beautifully in the 'moonlight', and snowdrift continued to blow off the trees in a way that made it look like it was actually snowing.

"D'you think we're ever gonna make it to the surface...?"

Gaster shrugged, sighing. "I hope so."

"I really wanna see the stars..." Sans said quietly. "Not like the stones on the ceiling. Actual stars, in space... I've only ever seen pictures."

"If we get to the surface, do you want to go stargazing with me...?" Gaster asked. Sans looked over to him and smiled a little.

"Yeah, that sounds nice. I'd like that."

Gaster turned his attention over to Sans, no longer interested on the stones on the ceiling. He wanted the real deal now, too. Ceiling stones just didn't quite match up. "I'm... Really glad I met you, Sans. You're... Really great."

Sans felt the blood rushing to his face. "Ah, I mean, I'm not really that great." He laughed nervously. "I'm just... Y'know. Here."

Gaster sat up, and Sans followed after. The scientist looked like he was looking for the right words to say. "Well, then..." He said. "I'm glad I have someone to be 'just here' with."

Sans couldn't really help but smile at that. "I've never really had anyone say something like that about me..." He replied sheepishly "Thanks."

"No problem." 

Sans looked down into his mostly empty cup of hot chocolate, the liquid warming his hands. He gripped the cup a tiny bit tighter, trying to get as much o the heat from it as he could. "Thanks for bringing me out here tonight. Otherwise, I probably just would have been bothering my brother with puns all night..." He chuckled a little, the image of Papyrus yelling at him about how horrible his jokes were in his mind.

"Like I said, I needed to get out as well... I figured I might as well bring one of the only people I can stand to be around for long periods of time." Gaster laughed a little. "I mean, I've had to deal with people a lot. Socialization is, unfortunately, a huge part of my job. You're one of the only people I actually want to see."

"I've got a question for ya."

"Go ahead." Gaster said.

"Do you think there's such a thing as 'too old for a snowball fight'?"

Gaster raised an eyebrow, smirking. "No, I don't think snowball fights have an age limit. Is this supposed to be a challenge?"

"Maybe." Sans replied. He stuck his tongue out. "Only if you think you can beat me. I'm pretty good at snowball fights. I cream Papyrus every time we have one."

"Oh, you're on." Gaster said. He stood, and Sans did as well. "First one to get hit five times, loses."

They both seemed to have the same idea right off the bat; hide behind a tree in the hopes that it would offer protection from cold, white missiles. Sans, who was... Admittedly thicker than the tree, could see that turning into a potential issue. But, then again, he had always had a knack for dodging. He dug his fingers into the snow, scooping up a handful and beginning to shape it into the ball. Gaster, a mere few feet away behind a different tree, was going for the 'make a snowball, throw a snowball' method, whereas his shorter, younger partner was going for the 'make a lot of snowballs and then throw them' approach. Both methods were very tactful, and it was anyone's game at this point. "Hey, Dings, guess what?"

"What?" Gaster replied.

"Think fast."

A few moments of almost absolute silence passed, and look around for any sign of a threat as he may, Gaster did not see, nor hear Sans. "Sans?"

A snowball hit him in the back of the head. Gaster caught sight of the culprit, who stood casually in the middle of the battlefield, tossing a snowball in his hand, a devious smirk on his face. Gaster frowned, aimed, and threw. Sans dodged. "What, ya think I'm just gonna stand there and take it?" He threw a curveball, hitting Gaster in the shoulder with the snowball.

Sans, two. Gaster, zero. Gaster smiled. Sans was right. He was good at this. But, that didn't mean he wasn't willing to try to take him down in this epic battle. He had to think of a way to get Sans out of hiding, and he had to think of a way to nail him with a snowball once he finally was out of hiding, without Sans dodging. This was going to be a challenge. He liked it.

Sans peaked his head out from behind a tree, and for a moment, Gaster thought the universe had handed him a golden opportunity to try to catch up in points. However, he aimed and missed. Sans took the opportunity to throw a snowball, and it hit Gaster's arm.

Sans, three. Gaster, still zero. "You sure you wanna go for five? I can just claim my victory here, and we can go back to mine and watch a movie."

"Wow, cocky. I've never seen you so confident." Gaster replied. Sans chuckled.

"What can I say, I was born to do this." And then Gaster got nailed in the leg with a snowball. The impact of the hit almost brought him to his knees, but he regained his balance. Sans, four. Gaster, zero.

Alright, it was now, or never. If Sans could hit him four times in a row without him being able to land a single blow, then he could do the same thing. He just had to hit Sans five times without missing, and without letting Sans get the last point he needed to win. He wanted to, at the very least get a point or two, to mend his damaged dignity. The scientist picked up a handful of snow, shaping it sloppily into a ball like shape. He waited.

Sans, being the jackass he was, casually walked into the open. He was exposed. This was Gaster's chance. Though, by the way the other walked, he looked almost distracted, as if he didn't remember he was in the middle of a very competitive snowball fight. Perfect. Gaster aimed and threw. Sans dodged. Frowning, Gaster quickly and quietly formed another snowball. He felt like an animal in a cage, being so close to losing and having been stuck behind this same tree the entire time. Not that it had done him much good, mind you. " _Tibia_  honest," Oh, now that was a stretch. Just because his attacks were bones, that meant he had to make bone jokes now? "I think we can stop at four. I've been playin' this my whole life. I'm a snowball fight champ." Gaster huffed in annoyance. Aiming, he threw at Sans and...

Managed to land a hit. Sans turned around, his sights set on the tree Gaster had been hiding behind this whole time. "Oh, ya managed to catch me off guard. Nice job." He walked towards the tree, throwing a snowball up in his hand, catching it, and repeating as he made his way over. Gaster was internally panicking. The smile on Sans' face looked like he aimed to win. And he was really close to doing so already. Gaster had to do something...!

He started running. Sans' smile faltered as he caught the snowball in his hand. Without hesitation, he began chasing after Gaster, ready to pounce when a chance arose. The only problem being that Sans, with his admittedly husky body build and poor stamina, was not built to run. He was built to make quick, low effort attacks, and to dodge. Running was not in his forte, and he was quickly reminded of that since he was already out of breath twenty seconds into the chase. Breathing heavily, he slowed down until he came to a complete stop, leaning against a tree for support. "Truce...!" He called out tiredly. Gaster stopped in his tracks, making his way back to Sans. He dropped the snowball he'd been holding.

"Tie?"

"Tie..." Sans huffed. He stood upright, having caught his breath for the most part. He smiled. "But I'm totally gonna challenge you to a do-over someday, and then I'm gonna kick your ass."

"Is that so?" Gaster smirked.

"Yeah." Sans said. "Can we go inside now? My hands are freezing."

"I second that notion." Gaster replied. They walked hand in hand back to where they'd had the picnic, and Gaster poured them each another cup of hot chocolate before packing the stuff in the backpack, slinging it onto his back, and brushing the snow off of his jacket. "I think that's enough snow for one day."

"Agreed." Sans said. They both started walking hand in hand towards Snowdin, cold, tired, but happy.

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

The door swung open, and Undyne and Papyrus immediately looked towards them. "Brother! Doctor Gaster! You both are covered in snow!"

"Nice observation, bro." Sans said. He took his jacket off, shaking the snow onto the floor before hanging it up. "It started snowing on the way home."

"If by 'it started snowing' you, of course, mean that we had that rematch early." The scientist mumbled. He also shook the snow off of his jacket and backpack before hanging them both up on the coat rack. It had already been discussed that, with as late as it was now, it would make more sense for Gaster to stay the night than for him to walk home.

"Congrats on winning, though." Sans said. The scientist shook his head. As much as he wanted to be annoyed at Sans for starting another snowball fight, he just couldn't find it in his soul to get annoyed at the other. He guessed it had something to do with those big, blue puppy dog eyes Sans had a knack for doing without even trying. He felt it was going to be impossible to say no to him.

"Thank you." He said. Sans chuckled quietly, having dodged more than just snowballs tonight.

"I was actually about to get Papyrus to bed. We were finishing up an episode on MTTV." Undyne said. Sans scoffed.

"What, that reality TV teen star? Mettaton, I think?" He asked. "Why would you wanna watch him?"

"Because he's super cool and good looking!!" Papyrus replied loudly. He pouted. Sans rolled his eyes. 

"I just don't see why he's all that great. To each their own, I guess." He took his worn boots off, throwing them in the corner of the room. Gaster did the same with his boots. "Undyne, help him get ready for bed, please."

"Uh, sure thing, nerd." Undyne said. She and Papyrus hurried up the stairs, and Sans turned the television off. The room was quiet. He looked at Gaster, who still stood by the door.

"Just us again."

"Mmhm."

"Alone."

"Mmhm."

"It's awkward for you too, yeah?"

"Sure is."

Sans smiled. "Then it's going as well as it usually does."

Gaster chuckled. "That's an odd way of knowing that something is going well."

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Sans said. Gaster walked over to him, and Sans stayed where he was. He craned his head up to maintain eye contact between him and the taller male. "I had a good time tonight..." He said quietly.

"I had a good time, too." Gaster replied. He took Sans' hands in his own. "However, I was meaning to accomplish something tonight."

"Well, it ain't tomorrow yet. You can still do it." Sans said. His face flushed pink as Gaster leaned a bit closer.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah." Sans said.

Gaster moved a stray bit of hair out of Sans' face, leaning closer still. Sans felt his heart rate pick up, and could have worn it was going to beat right out of his chest. Panic and excitement sent chills down his spine as he closed his eyes, his face flushing even deeper of a pink as he felt soft lips connect with his own. He gripped onto Gaster's sweater, a fluttering sensation in his soul and his heartbeat picking up even more. His chest pressed against Gaster's, he could feel the other male's heartbeat had also picked up and was almost beating in perfect rhythm with his own.

Despite wishing it hadn't ended as soon as it had, Sans had to admit that, for a first kiss, that had been... Exhilarating. His eyes fluttered open, and in front of him was an equally impressed, equally flustered Gaster. An awkward silence followed, but now, Sans knew exactly how to fix that. He leaned in again. Luckily for him, Gaster seemed to agree that going in for another kiss probably wasn't a bad idea. In all the years that Sans had attempted to find something that worked, he'd never imagined that this of all things would be stronger than any alcohol he'd ever tried. The best part; kissing didn't burn, and there was no pesky hangover. Just bliss. He could get used to this. They both could get very used to this.

Gaster pulled away from the kiss, his face a beautiful bubblegum pink. It even graced the tips o his ears. Sans was in a similar state. The shorter male reopened his eyes, biting nervously down on his lip as his mind frantically tried to make sense of everything that just happened while his heart was, metaphorically, grinning like an idiot and tripping over its own feet.

"I... Uh..." Gaster had never been more lost for words. Everything he had ever done or said before he met Sans had been calculated and precise. Now he was making split decisions and getting tongue twisted.

"Wow." Sans said. Gaster nodded in agreement. Sans had basically finished his train of thought.

"Yeah, that." He said. He pulled away from Sans entirely, needing some space to cool down. He'd been freezing just five minutes ago, and now he was burning up. He cleared his throat. "That was... Wow."

Sans took a deep breath in, and let it go. "Wow." He repeated, a nervous laugh escaping his throat. They both sat on the couch, doing a mental double take."

They sat there for a moment or two before the scientist yawned, stretching his arms above his head. "I don't know about you, but I'm beat."

"Yeah, I could definitely sleep." Sans said. He and Gaster both stood, climbing the stairs slowly. Sans' mind was still swimming rapidly with thought, and he wondered if he would even be able to get to sleep. As tired as he was, he didn't really want to sleep and risk forgetting what had just happened. Still, he climbed into bed next to Gaster, who pulled him close. The flashlight in the lamp on his desk clicked off, and he closed his eyes as he buried his head in Gaster's chest. Warm...

"Goodnight, Sans..." Gaster said quietly.

Sans yawned, snuggling closer to his taller lover. "Goodnight, Dings..."

"I love you."

"I love you, too..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHEEZES 5,502 WORDS KILL ME
> 
> Seriously though, I wouldn't have been able to have finished this chapter if it wasn't for my friend DJ, Imfamous2p. He provided me with a lot of encouragement, and he pushed me to stop procrastinating, and a push was exactly what I needed. I really owe it to him. This special chapter is dedicated to him, for his belief that I could do it if I applied myself.
> 
> Fanart? You can send it to me using any of these social media listed.
> 
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> Or if you just wanna message me, that's cool too. I don't really have much to do, so if you message me, I'll probably respond right away (unless I'm sleeping).
> 
> Please remember to kudos, comment, and give me a follow, if you'd like. Comments are always welcome because I love having feedback from you guys. That being said, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Bye!
> 
> \- a very determined Felix


	18. Chapter Eighteen - Stutter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans isn't too fond of the new girl, and although he can't tell quite why he doesn't like her, Gaster has it all figured out.

It'd been two weeks since the King and Queen had lost both their children and about a week and a half since it had been established that Queen Toriel had stepped down from the throne and was now living in someplace secret. Silently, everyone began life as it normally had been. The tragedy, however, had not been excused or overlooked. Monsters were the enemy of the future of human beings.

Usually on a Monday morning, Sans would despise getting up. Even when he had been a child, despite not having a day off, the beginning of the week was still a very hated time period. Something about Mondays just made Sans wanna punch someone. This fine Monday morning, he had gotten up the first time his alarm went off, with no hesitation. As his head left the pillow, and his body, the mattress, he felt rejuvenated. After years of never feeling rested enough, he finally felt awake enough to get out of bed, and join society. He, of course, knew the only reason he was so willing to get out of bed was that he could see Gaster for nine whole hours, having the scientist all to himself. The only person who could possibly interrupt their work was maybe the janitor.

He took a shower, and he brushed his hair before getting dressed in his work uniform. He could hear Papyrus in the room next to him start getting ready for school. Normally, it was a silent process, but that was when Undyne hadn't spent the night. Unfortunately, she had spent the night, and his brother and Undyne had one of their meaningless bicker sessions; neither was ever really mad at each other, they both just loved being loud, and what better way to drive Sans crazy- er, be loud, than to argue over absolutely nothing? Sans suspected they both just had an agenda to make sure they could both increase his blood pressure by the end of the day. It was never quite obvious what they were arguing about because Sans never really paid attention. Papyrus and Undyne both yelled up to Sans that they were leaving the house. They did, and Sans left a few minutes later, beginning his walk to work.

The cold, brisk wind of Snowdin blew harshly. It was still obvious that the weather was still out of whack, and Sans guessed that it would be like that for a while to come. The weather control was maintained by King Asgore's magic, and as grief-stricken as the King was right now, it would be a while until anything he was in charge of maintaining would be fully functional again. Luckily, Snowdin wasn't a very large patch of land to cross. The moment he could, he caught the bird ride over to the other side of Waterfall, where he then took the River Person's boat to Hotland.

Hotland, for lack of better words, was very hot. It never really bothered Sans, though, because the moment he would get into the lab, the air conditioning would cool him down. As the burst of heat washed over him, it was immediately soothed as he opened the doors to his workplace. The door shut behind him, and he looked where Gaster usually sat, only for his attention to be brought to a different end of the room where there stood Gaster... And... Someone else?

Gaster, and the stranger, both looked at Sans. "Oh, Sans, you're early." Gaster said.

The smaller male looked- and was- confused. "Who's she?"

"This is Alphys. She's going to be working with us, starting today."

Despite not knowing why Sans was both irritated and relieved at the same time. Perhaps a better word would have been conflicted. Yes, conflicted was definitely a good word to use. The stranger waved, in what looked to be a very timid way. "H-hi..."

Not wanting to be rude, Sans waved back, gritting his teeth as he grinned the friendliest grin he could

Not wanting to be rude, Sans waved back, gritting his teeth as he grinned the friendliest grin he could. "Heya." He said.

This person gave him really bad vibes, and he couldn't understand why. Something about her felt familiar in an eerie and dangerous way. The expression on her face seemed more tired than his own, and he couldn't tell why, but it scared him.

And yet, she didn't look like a threat. She didn't even look like she could have even been his age. She was only a tiny bit taller, but her complexion gave away that she was still a teenager. Her body build was on the slightly more overweight side, and her round, rimmed glasses were obviously too big for her face.

"Sans, could you get me a cup of coffee?" Gaster asked politely.

"Of course." Sans said. Sans went into the break room and made extra sure that he made Gaster's coffee the way he liked it; two cream, three sugar. As he came back into the room, he noticed Gaster helping Alphys get settled into her new work area. Okay, this was fine. There was nothing about this that should have made him feel uneasy. And it didn't make him uneasy.

It made him anxious as fuck. Still, he repressed the feeling and found himself wishing he had hit the snooze button a few times.

"U-um... I think I understand."

"Great." Gaster replied. "I will leave you to it, then." He patted her back before heading off to his own desk.

Sans even flinched at how hard he placed the coffee cup down on Gaster's desk. Luckily enough for him, Gaster didn't ask him what would cause that kind of reaction, because even Sans didn't really know the answer to that. "There ya go." He said, calmly, to try to brush what had just happened under the rug. "Just how you like it. Two cream, three sugar."

"Thank you, Sans." He took a sip of the coffee. "Please, get to it today. We are very behind schedule."

After not seeing the analytical side of Gaster for so long, this felt foreign. Almost hostile. Sans had almost completely forgotten how cold and unfeeling the scientist was during work. He was really starting to regret waking up at all today. Now there was a new person here, and Gaster couldn't even act as lax as he would outside of work because of that. Work was suddenly feeling very lonely. "Yes, sir." He replied quietly. He sat in his seat, a pile of paperwork mountained on his desk. He internally groaned. This was gonna take all day...

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

Lunch break finally rolled around and Sans would be lying if he said he wasn't relieved. As quiet as he kept on his opinion about the new intern, he couldn't help but feel like his distaste for her was obvious. Still, no one brought it up, and he acted civilly towards her since she hadn't really actually done anything worth hating.

She sat across from him in the break room, her emerald colored eyes darting nervously around as beads of sweat would occasionally drip down her forehead. Sans raised an eyebrow. "Uh, you okay?"

She squeaked in reply, hiding behind her arms for a moment before she realized she wasn't in danger. Her arms dropped back down to her sides before she raised them back up to her chest. "O-Oh, I'm fine..." She stammered quietly. "This is just, um, my first job... S-So..."

Sans nodded a little, a bit of his objection towards her washing away. She was just nervous. There was nothing about this girl that could do any kind of damage to him, not physically, mentally, or emotionally. "Yeah, first day jitters can be a bitch. You'll get over it though."

She laughed nervously, wringing her hands together; most likely a nervous tick. Her eyes continued to dart around the room. "I-I don't think it's um..." She gulped. "F-F-First day jitters. I'm just... U-Usually like this."

And the dislike was slowly coming back. Her voice was as annoying as nails on a chalkboard, and her stuttering took too much time. It made what should have been a four-second sentence into a ten-second sentence.

He really just wasn't going to get along with her very well.

The sound of a mug being placed down on the table broke him out of his thoughts and back into reality. Gaster now sat at the table, across from him, next to her. Monday was still feeling like a very punchy day. "Alphys, Sans." Gaster addressed his employees by name.

Maybe the thing that was annoying him the most about her was the fact that Gaster was warming up to her quite quickly. It'd taken him until the end of his first workday to get Gaster to address him by name, and he was addressing her by 'Alphys' right off the bat.

Two could play at this game.

"Doc." Sans replied casually. Gaster gave an odd expression; raising his eyebrows and sipping his coffee and then shaking his head in a dismissive manner. Sans wondered what Gaster had gathered from one simple word to garner a reaction like that.

"Don't call me that." Gaster replied. There wasn't any malice, or any kind of asking permission in his tone, like a boy on the schoolyard asking bullies not to pick on him; it was an order, and it was given calmly. Sans shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Right." He said. "Sorry."

The scientist straightened the stack of papers he held in his hand, banging it on the table until they all fell equally. "Alphys, these papers contain some general lab protocol, a map of the building, and some information on where in the lab you will be stationed." He placed the stack down in front of her. "Starting tomorrow you'll be working on the second floor. The expectations of your position are also listed in there."

She looked almost as if she'd seen a ghost. "O-O-O-Okay, thank you, Doctor Gaster."

"No problem. Enjoy the rest of your lunch break." And just like that, he stood and left the table again. Left Sans alone in the break room with her. And what was up with the weird glance he was giving today...? It was almost like he knew something...

Sans sipped coffee from his mug that cleverly had the words 'World's Best Sleeper' in red sharpie; a gift from Papyrus this past Christmas that he now kept at work due to his sleep schedule fluctuating, and him having to operate on caffeine alone. Today was gonna be a long day... He could feel it in his bones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this is a bit of a shorter chapter, but I figured since the last one was over 5,000 words, I deserved to make a bit of a shorter chapter. 1,700 words (give or take) ain't bad. I just wanted to get myself in the flow of working faster. Admittedly, I spend a lot of the two weeks it takes to usually update this fic doing nothing constructive or useful. The fact that it was consistently every two weeks is pure coincidence, and not a schedule for the rest of the book. I'm hoping to start updating faster now.
> 
> Fanart? It can be sent to any of these places.
> 
> Tumblr- crimsonfandomtrash  
> Kik- crimsonfandomtrash  
> Instagram- crimsonfandomtrash  
> DeviantArt- CrimsonFandomTrash  
> Facebook- Felix Kite 
> 
> Alternatively, you can just send me a message. I do not demand that you draw me something to be able to hold a conversation. Plus, I don't bite and I don't really have that many friends, so you won't be imposing. The only reason I wouldn't reply is because I'm sleeping.
> 
> Here's a drawing I did with Alphys' design! https://www.instagram.com/p/BZZ-reklElq/
> 
> Either way, that's about it. Remember to leave a kudos, comment, and give me a follow, if you like. Bye.
> 
> \- Felix


	19. Chapter Nineteen - Weird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After finally having told King Asgore about his mother and father, Gaster's parents are found by the Royal Guard and convicted for their crimes. Sans, meanwhile starts noticing of behavior in his partner and continues to hallucinate. What are these things he's seeing, and how long will it be before these weird occurrences start to hinder him?

The lab door closed behind the three as they exited the building. Alphys didn't stick around since she wasn't obligated to and couldn't commit to social interaction, so after she scurried off, the Sans and Gaster dream team were left behind. Gaster chuckled as he locked the building up, swinging the keys around his fingers and then catching them in his palm before putting them in his pocket. What was he laughing at...? "Come on, let's get you home." Gaster said. The pair got on the River Person's boat, and they rode silently to Snowdin.

As soon as the door closed behind them and they were in the comfort of Sans' home, the scientist hung his lab coat up, and Sans threw his hoodie onto the floor, not much caring right now about the cleanliness of his house. They both sat on the couch, and the shorter male decided that, if he was going to voice his opinion on the new girl at all, right now would probably be the best time. "I don't like her." Gaster chuckled again. "What?" Sans said defensively.

The scientist shook his head smiling. "You're jealous, aren't you?"

Gaster swore Sans face flushed a few different shades of red in embarrassment. "I'm not jealous of her...! I don't have any reason to be jealous of her...!" He paused. "Right?"

Gaster only laughed more, which was pissing Sans off. This wasn't a joke. "Oh, my stars, you are. You're jealous."

Sans folded his arms across his chest in a defensive matter. WHy was Gaster laughing at the fact that he was jealous...? It didn't make any sense. "Yeah, so what?" He asked.

"I assure you that, as brilliant and as promising as Alphys is, I have no intention to leave you for her. Besides, she's too young, and not really my type." Gaster said. "She is an employee. Nothing more, nothing less."

Sans seemed to visibly relax, hearing the words from his partner like that. He very quickly remembered that Gaster could be trusted. Gaster wasn't one of the bullies who had tormented and beaten him as a kid, Gaster wasn't one of the questionably shady looking adults who he would often cast looks of empty threats that he wouldn't ever really be able to carry out due to his... Limited abilities... But would still try, should they try to hurt him, or his brother. Gaster had never done any harm to him in the month he'd known him, and up until they had gotten together, he had been admittedly very cautious. But, if the scientist had wanted to hurt him, he would have already done it. Gaster had already seen him at his weakest point, injured, almost about to bleed to death, and he had taken a week away from his work to nurse him back to health. The shorter male sighed. "Okay. I trust you."

Sans hadn't expected Gaster to understand the gravity behind him saying that, and he was correct in thinking so. The other moved on to the next conversation topic without acknowledging the statement at all. Sans couldn't blame him... Gaster had no idea how hard it was for Sans to get to this level of trust with someone. "I apologize for laughing at you for being jealous, it just felt... Very validating."

Sans raised an eyebrow, confusion on his face. "Validating? What, you've been jealous before?"

"Admittedly, before we were even together, I felt... Very jealous towards how your friend Grillby was treating you. It seemed like he liked you a bit too much."

Sans' eyes widened in shock, his mouth agape. He was speechless for a moment. "What, Grillbz?" Sans scoffed and laughed a little. "Nah, dude. He's got a wife and a daughter in Hotland.  Goes home to 'em every night I don't spend the entire night in his bar. Which I used to do a lot."

The scientist leaned forward, his elbows resting on his legs, and his head on his fists. It was one of the more relaxed positions Sans had ever seen the other take. "Oh, thank stars."

Sans smiled a little, feeling the blood rush to his cheeks. No one had ever... Been jealous over him. Except maybe the rats that had lived in the walls at one point. Sans had starved them out. He was basically a walking trashcan. Not to mention his appearance wasn't exactly the best... He dressed like a homeless person eight times out of ten. 

That was when Gaster's phone started ringing. The scientist hesitantly picked up, sighing before putting the device to his ear and clearing his throat. "Yes, who is this?" Sans could faintly hear the other voice on the other end of the phone as Gaster went silent. "Hello, Your Majesty. It's good to hear from you again." For the next few moments, Gaster's face was completely unreadable. He took a deep breath in, and the breath of air he let out was almost shaky. "I understand. Yes, I can be over soon. Yeah. Yeah. Alright, goodbye, Your Highness." He hung up the phone and Sans stared at him with a confused, concerned look.

"What's up...?"

Gaster kept looking at his cell phone for a moment before shoving the device into his pocket. Slowly, almost agonizingly so, Gaster looked over to him, his expression blank. He bit his lower lip, fixing his glasses, and then he spoke. "The Guard found my parents."

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

The heat of the Core, which was usually almost unbearable, felt like nothing. Gaster was mentally and emotionally preparing himself for whatever unpleasant conversation he was about to have. Sans had insisted on coming with, but Gaster wasn't having any of it. He had to face this on his own, and he didn't want Sans anywhere near his mother. The shorter male would probably try to hurt her, and though he would like to give her a piece of his mind, violence wasn't the answer to violence. It was too late to try to strike back now. The damage had been done, the physical damage was long over, and now she was behind bars. As was his father.

When he arrived at the castle, he thought he had prepared as much as he could. He knocked on the door. The King answered the door, his expression weary from his still recent loss. Wordlessly, he let Gaster in. The door clicked closed behind them. "How did the Guard find them...?" Gaster asked quietly.

"Your father turned himself in and then reported your mother to the authorities... She's been charged with child endangerment, and two counts of murder. He's been charged-"

"Please, spare me the details. I know very well what he did. He told me over the phone a little over a week ago. Where are they?"

"In the brig." King Asgore answered. 

"I want to talk to them." Gaster replied abruptly. "If... That's alright."

The King had sighed. Gaster had finally, last week, in a fit of tears, told Asgore about just how bad his parents were. He'd always had suspicions, but could never start a search for them until Gaster filed a complaint, and gave him names to work with. As soon as Gaster had done that, the Guard went straight to work on finding them. Gaster hadn't told Sans about the breakdown he had in front of the King. Hadn't even seen Sans all last week. Asgore figured it would be wrong not to grant his friend and his brilliant, hardworking scientist the chance to gain closure with someone who had made his life so miserable. "Yes, of course. Follow me."

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

The first thing Sans had done when he woke up was frantically check his phone. He hadn't talked to Gaster since last night before the other left his home, and he was getting a bit worried. Gaster usually sent him a text right before bed.

One new message. Sans clicked the notification and was relieved to be brought to Gaster's chat.

_**Gaster <3** _  
_**3:30 AM** _  
_**Im home and safe. Sorry I didnt get back to you sooner. I hope I didnt worry you.** _

Sans looked at the text, a bad feeling wrapping its way around him. He didn't know why, but something about the text made him feel very anxious... He tried to shrug it off as best as he could as he got ready for work, but even a shower didn't wash away the feeling of unease.

After he finished getting ready for work, he cooked a quick breakfast for him and his brother. Papyrus ate quickly, having only a few more minutes before he had to leave for school. Sans ruffled the young boy's hair endearingly as he slipped the wooden half heart necklace over his head and into his shirt so it wasn't visible (he wondered if Gaster still wore his half of the necklace). "You gonna try to have a good day at school, kiddo?"

"Mmhm!!" Papyrus replied enthusiastically, his mouth full. He chewed and swallowed before talking again. "I can't wait for the school year to end so I can move up to seventh grade!"

"Only about another month of school, buddy."

Papyrus groaned, as if annoyed. "I haaaaate vacation...! There's nothing to doooooo." He finished his food before standing to his feet and going over to the door where he sat on the floor and pulled his boots on.

"Be good, okay?" Sans said.

Papyrus nodded excitedly. "Always!"

"Have a good day, bro."

"You, too, brother!" Papyrus replied. He stood, grabbing his backpack and slinging it onto his shoulder before running out the door. He accidentally slammed it behind him. Sans put the dirty dishes in the sink before beginning his walk to work.

He walked into the lab at 7:50, early, as always. The only reason he still strived to get there early was to be able to see Gaster for longer. Since Alphys was working on the second floor now, it was safe to say Sans had the scientist to himself again. He, of course, was happy about that factor. He wondered if the scientist had stationed Alphys upstairs on purpose, but then remembered that this was a workplace, and Gaster probably wouldn't have done much of anything to make sure they were alone. He was a hardworking man, and he didn't take his work lightly. So that's why Sans was surprised when he walked in and the other wasn't sitting at his desk.

Of course, his first thought was that Gaster might be helping Alphys upstairs, but that theory was quickly debunked when Alphys walked in. She hadn't even clocked in yet... She spared Sans an anxious look before scurrying over to the escalator that lead to the second floor. From what Sans had seen of the second floor, it looked like it was supposed to be a living area, and Gaster still just used it as a work area since he already had a home. For a temporary intern like Alphys, it was a perfect workplace.

That being said, now Sans had no idea where Gaster could be if he wasn't helping the new girl. Maybe he was in the break room...? This theory also proved to be untrue, since Sans checked, and there was no one there but him. This was troubling, to say the least. Sans had pulled his cell phone out and was about to call Gaster when the scientist finally came in the front door. Sans looked over, putting his phone back in his pocket. Gaster hadn't clocked in...? The other always clocked in at six in the morning, sometimes sooner. It was weird to think he had come in before Gaster even had.

The scientist walked groggily, and his glasses weren't sitting on his face right. His hair was a mess, and Sans immediately recognized it as partly tamed bedhead. His shirt wasn't tucked in, he didn't have a tie on, and he was wearing a pair of beat up looking sneakers instead of his dress shoes. Sans figured if he had a word to describe Gaster right now, he would have said he looked... Exhausted.

It was 8:05 in the morning. Gaster was late for work for the first time ever in his career, and he didn't even seem to care. He slumped down in his seat and quietly got to work. Sans, being concerned, took it upon himself to make Gaster a fresh pot of coffee. When the hot, caffeinated drink had finally brewed, he poured it into the cup. Two cream, three sugar. He set the mug down on Gaster's desk. "Are you okay?" He asked.

Gaster looked up to him, a tired look on his face. The bags under his eyes were darker. He didn't look like he'd gotten any sleep last night. Which, made sense, now that Sans thought about that text from three in the morning. He sighed. "I am fine, thank you for your concern."

"Alright... I made you coffee." Sans gestured to the offering, steam still rising from the cup.

Gaster took a sip from the drink. It went down smoothly, as always. Sans knew his way around coffee, Gaster will give him that. "As good as always, love." He didn't catch himself using the pet name, but he watched as his partner's face flushed from the suddenness of the pet name. 

"You're welcome." Sans said. He sat down "What are we supposed to be working on today?"

Gaster took a long sip from his coffee cup. "We're supposed to be working on containment units for the seven monster souls. That's why Alphys was hired. She's almost graduated engineering. At the top of all her classes with a perfect record."

Sans idly found himself wondering if he would have been a good student, given his intelligence. He had a lot of negative traits, and he was well aware of it, but you'd sooner catch him picking up his sock than you would find him calling himself an idiot. "Alright. I'll have to warn you though, I'm not too much help for information on souls and magic. I've always struggled with other fields."

"That's quite alright. I mostly studied souls in school. I'm confident I can figure out how to make this work."

Sans nodded a little, absentmindedly twirling a bit of hair around his finger. "Uh, are you sure you're okay? You texted me really late last night. Did you get enough sleep?"

"I'm fine." Gaster replied monotone.

"Have you eaten today?"

"Yes, of course." 

Sans frowned a little. He was unsure how to deal with this... The direct approach just didn't seem to be right in this situation. "Alright..." He replied hesitantly.

The scientist said nothing else, going straight to work. The keys on his keyboard clicked as he typed quickly and fluently. The only sound in the room was the clicking of the keys and the clock on the wall. Sans could have sworn he'd seen something weird when glancing back over to his partner. A darker hair color with noticeable other colors mixed in, and new bits of scar tissue on his face that lead down to the corner of the other's mouth. He blinked and it was gone.

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

Alphys and Gaster quietly worked on blueprints as Sans recorded the information using an old video camera that Gaster had said was handy for this project because of how confusing it was. Sans, being the only one who didn't have a skillset to bring to the table, was the cameraman.

"Right, then. Looks like we've got a plan. How soon can this be done?"

Alphys looked everywhere but as Gaster, sweating as she spoke. "W-W-Well, it might take a f-few weeks to complete them, but it could take l-longer depending on circumstance."

Gaster crossed his arms across his chest "Sounds wonderful. Begin working on this as soon as you see fit."

Sans blinked a couple times, and the thing he'd seen disappeared again. This was really starting to get weird...


	20. Chapter Twenty - The Void

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans and Gaster have a small date in Waterfall that leads to interesting conversation.

Sans found that with Gaster, the work week didn't feel so long. Thursday had come and gone, and he wouldn't be expected at the lab until Mondy morning. He also had to admit that it was nice to have a steady income now. Over 800 gold every other week wasn't exactly something to scoff at, and it'd already been explained that the longer he worked there, the more he would make. The first chance he got he went to the Shop in Snowdin and bought a new pair of shoes. Nothing fancy, just better than the old, beat up pair of shoes he'd had for the past few years. Another unremarkable week came and went, and now he'd been working at the lab for a little under two months, and dating Gaster for a little under a month and a half. He continued to see weird things, but at this point, they didn't surprise him.

Gaster knocked on the door of the decorated house he'd grown so used to at this point. The door swung open, and there stood Papyrus, who had to crane his head upward to be able to make eye contact with the scientist. "Hello, Papyrus. Is Sans home?" Gaster asked.

Papyrus nodded excitedly. "Yeah, he's upstairs getting dressed! I'll go get him!" And then the boy ran off, tripping over his untied shoelace before regaining his balance and giggling as he ran up the stairs. Gaster shook his head. That boy was going to get himself seriously hurt one day, and he wasn't sure if there was any way to help him avoid that. An injury was inevitable with as accident prone as Papyrus was. He recalled hearing a story from Sans on a particularly slow day of work a week or so ago about Papyrus ending up stuck in a tree when they had been younger. He included the ending of the story, where Papyrus fell out of the tree, having been at the top of it, on top of Sans. Sans had a sprained ankle from landing on it weird for a month. 

Papyrus ended up pulling his brother out of his room and down the stairs a few minutes later after Gaster had already decided to come in the house and close the door to keep the heat in the house. "Okay, okay, I get it, I'm coming." Sans said as Papyrus tugged on his arm.

"Hurry up, slowpoke!!" Papyrus said, tugging on his brother's jacket sleeve. They finally reached the living room, where Papyrus then decided it would be a good idea to shove his brother into the scientist. Of course, Papyrus wasn't strong enough to shove Sans very far, but Sans still collided with Gaster, who quickly wrapped his arms around Sans to keep the other from tripping over his own feet. Papyrus grinned, satisfied with the results. "Now go have fun."

"Pap, Undyne isn't even here to watch you ye-"

Papyrus cut his older brother off with a raspberry (Or at least, Gaster thinks that's what it's called). "I don't need Undyne to watch me, I'm a big kid!" Gaster couldn't help but chuckle at how contradictory that was, pulling such a childish move and then claiming maturity.

Sans sighed a little. "Fine. But when she does show up, she is in charge." He replied firmly. He took a step back from Gaster, who released his hold on him. "Where are we going?"

"Someplace nearby and secret." Gaster replied.

"You really love secret places, huh?" Sans asked, raising a brow and smiling. Gaster nodded.

"Of course. The more secret the place, the fewer people likely to already be there."

"That is, hand's down, the most flawless logic I have ever heard. Absolute genius." There was something sarcastic about Sans' tone, and yet Gaster could tell that he agreed. The fewer the people, the better.

Gaster extended his hand towards Sans. "Shall we, then, sir?"

"Oooo, sir. So fancy. Yes, we shall." Sans said, putting his hand in Gaster's. The scientist intertwined his fingers with the other's, before opening the door. The pair stepped out into the snow before Papyrus closed the door behind them.

Snow crunched under their feet as the walked forward, and Sans mentally took note that they were walking towards Waterfall. That was a bit of a relief, considering Gaster wasn't wearing a proper coat to be in Snowdin for very long.

The temperature changed drastically as soon as they step foot into Waterfall. It immediately went from freezing to humid. Sans unzipped his jacket, tightening his grip on Gaster's hand as they continued to walk further into Waterfall.

The walk was a relatively short one until they came into a room with a flower puzzle. After sending the seeds adrift in a way Sans didn't recognize, the flowers blossomed, making a new path. The scientist and Sans walked over to the new path, walking carefully over the flower bridge until they were in a new area. Just as lovely as Snowdin forest, with its own kind of charm, the crystals on the ceiling were especially nice looking in this area. An echo flower planted right beside a small bench echoed whatever it heard last; in this case, dripping water. Sans looked up to Gaster. "Do you really need to best yourself every time we go out?" He joked.

"Of course." Gaster said. "After all, I'd hardly like to bore you. Besting myself just means keeping it interesting."

"You're doing a damn good job of keeping it interesting." Sans said. "I think we're the only ones in the Underground to even know about this place. This room has never been on any map of Waterfall I've ever seen." The pair sat on the bench, the echo flower still sounding off the echo of the drips from the ceiling.

"Yes, it's quite hard to find. It wouldn't surprise me if we were the only ones to know about this room. I stumbled upon this place about... seven years ago." Sans looked around the cavern as the other spoke.

"Seven years, huh? So, about when you got to be the Royal Scientist, right?" Sans sked.

Gaster nodded. "Yeah." He sighed. 

Sans drew a blank for a couple of seconds but soon thought of something to say. "It must've been pretty crazy, seeing your parents like that after they got caught, huh?" Gaster nodded. Sans decided to push a little. "How did Asgore finally find out about them? You told me he didn't know."

"I told him." Gaster said. "I don't know quite when, or how, but I told him."

"You don't know how...?" Sans asked.

"I might have had a minor emotional breakdown at some point." Gaster shook his head as if he hadn't just said something mildly concerning. Sans frowned, despite knowing there was nothing he could do now about said possible emotional breakdown. Gaster had obviously not told him on purpose. "It doesn't matter. The only thing that matters now is that I've had closure, and they're both going to rot in prison for a while as they should have years ago."

"I mean..." Sans muttered. "She  _did_ murder your brothers, and your dad didn't stop her or report her to the Guard, so he's just as guilty. It seems fair." Sans felt like he wasn't a lot of things. Wasn't particularly intelligent, just a tiny bit above average. Not remarkable in any sense of the word. Not rich, or brave, or handsome. But, he felt he had a lot of patience, and he felt like he was a very just person. He'd never wish anything on anyone if they didn't deserve it. Murdering your two children seemed like a crime worthy of a lifetime in jail.

Gaster agreed. "You know, you and the King have that in common. You're both very fair."

"I can't really think of anyone who wouldn't agree. Killing is messed up. Especially killing children. There's no justified reason to kill a kid." Sans glanced briefly at the echo flower beside them before glancing back at Gaster. "I don't really think I'm like King Asgore. To tell you the truth, I'm kinda scared of him...?" He said it more like it was a question and then laughed a little. "I don't know why, he just... He gives me a bad feeling, and I don't know why."

Gaster was curious as to what Sans meant but felt it best to not press for any kind of details. He had a feeling it might have something to do with the nightmares Sans was prone to having (a fact revealed to him on a date a week ago), but he couldn't be entirely sure. Neither of them said anything for a while until Gaster broke the silence. He cleared his throat. "There probably isn't going to be much to do at work for the next few months. June, up until October is usually a dull, lifeless period of time in this field. I want to focus on my personal project until we get an actual assignment, though, I wanted to ask you how you felt about that first."

The smaller of the two blinked before answering. "I mean, I'd love to help you work on it."

"But...?"

"No buts." Sans said. "I'm pretty invested in it already. It's a great thought, and I think you could actually make some kind of difference in the world with it. I'd love to help you work on it."

The scientist hummed. "We still need to name it."

"What the heck would you even name something as unique as a memory eraser?"

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

Sans watched in odd amusement as the wax paper peeled off the machine so easily, revealing the letters underneath. "Thank you for the assistance in making this project have a soundly aesthetic design, Alphys." Gaster said.

"A-ah, I mean, this  _is_  what I'm going to school for, so..." She continued to remove the wax paper from the letters, finally finishing. "There, all done!"

"Good job, Alphys." Sans said. "It looks cool."

"It's not that big o-of a deal, I'm not doing any of the actual hard work like you two are. I just put some letters on i-it." 

"Thank you, again, for your assistance, Alphys." Gaster said again. Alphys accepted the thanks before shyly scurrying back to her desk to complete her paperwork for the day as Gaster handed Sans some blueprints. "Well, Sans, let's get to work." Gaster grinned. "The Void isn't gonna build itself, now is it?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooooo another chapter
> 
> I'm justifying how short this chapter is with the fact that I'm literally days behind on Inktober and Goretober. Haven't even started Kinktober.
> 
> But, yeah, Gaster's machine is named The Void. I wonder how people are gonna feel about that.
> 
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> Alternatively, if you just want to contact me to chat, that's fine too. I'll usually answer right away, unless I'm sleeping or hanging out with friends.
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> But, yup. That's the end of this chapter. Make sure to leave a kudos, comment, and give me a follow, if you want.
> 
> \- Felix


	21. Chapter Twenty-One - The Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sans sees a scary movie with Gaster and then has a horrible dream set four years in the future.

Sans wanted to punch whoever had thought watching a scary movie was a good idea, but then he remembered it was Gaster's idea and he gave up the idea of punching whoever's horrible idea this was. Undyne had found the movie that had gotten to the Dump from the monster world, and it'd been sitting on top of the new DVD player for the past few weeks. On a particularly boring Tuesday night, where Gaster had packed a backpack full of a change of clothes for the next morning, he saw the movie laying abandoned on the DVD player. He somehow talked Sans into watching it with him.

So here Sans was, arms wrapped tight around Gaster in the dark room. The only thing that illuminated the room was the television, and even that sometimes wasn't enough when it was a very dark scene in the movie. He had his face buried in the other's shoulder for over half the movie, and it was starting to get embarrassing.

Oh, stars, that woman on the screen just died. The special effects in this movie were way too good. Those looked like actual guts. Sans didn't even know monsters had guts. He suddenly felt very sick, and he had to bury his face in Gaster's shoulder again, just so he wasn't looking at the screen. Almost as if Gaster could tell that this was becoming a bit too much for the other (and truthfully, a bit sick of the movie as well), the scientist faked a yawn. "I don't know about you, but I'm kind of tired, and this movie isn't that good." Truth be told, it was a good movie. It was just kind of obvious that Sans was scared out of his skin, and Gaster wouldn't ever wish for Sans to be scared.

"Yeah, it's dumb." Sans said. He was shaking. It was obvious that he thought more about it than just 'dumb', but Gaster didn't push. Instead, he got up, took the movie out, and turned on the lights. Papyrus, who had also been watching the movie, had passed out on the living room floor, his hand still shoved in the popcorn bowl that used to be on his lap. Most of the popcorn was now on the floor, and Gaster wondered if Sans would have let his brother stay up so late if it was a school night. Thankfully, it wasn't anymore. Last Friday had been the last day of school in the 2010-2011 school year. Papyrus didn't go back until the beginning of September. The monsters on the surface called it 'summer vacation', but with a lack of actual seasons in the Underground, it just ended up being called 'vacation' down here.

Sans, meanwhile, sat stark contrast to the lumpy beige couch he sat on. Gaster swore he was going to replace that damn thing eventually, even if it meant giving Sans one of his couches. After all, he rarely even went to his own house anymore, and even when he did he never sat on any of the couches he had. This lumpy beige one didn't even match the red paint on the walls. He digresses, however. Right now wasn't the time to complain about Sans' couch. Right now was the time to get his distressed partner to bed so that they could wake up on time to get to the lab. The other seemed much calmer now that the movie was off, and the lights, on. "Come on, then. Time for bed." Gaster said. 

Sans stood from the couch (wow, he was so small, he barely even stood to Gaster's torso), and the pair made their way up the steps, Sans in front. They reached the bedroom, and Sans immediately flopped onto the bed. He situated himself before patting the spot next to him. As a magic hand worked on turning the lights off, Gaster worked on getting into the bed next to Sans. His feet always hung off the edge of the bed, but strangely, that didn't bother him. Sans immediately wrapped his arms around the other as the light went off, and the door closed, leaving them in darkness.

The pair of slender, familiar arms that wrapped themselves around Sans had a way of giving him a strange sense of security that was clearly lacking without. It didn't take a genius to know just how fucked he would be if he ever had to fight for some reason. His health, as poor as it was, was only getting worse. His HP had dropped substantially just since the beginning of the year alone, and he wasn't quite sure how to fix it. He'd been struggling with health issues like this all his life, in fact. Still, that knowledge that he couldn't defend himself very well, and the knowledge that he'd probably go to an early grave from any other number of health issues seemed to fade into the background, and cease to exist around Gaster. Maybe because he had that much faith in Gaster to finally be the one to break the barrier and give Sans and everyone else the happy ending that had seemed to become less and less achievable as time had gone by. Gaster was a source of hope, and Sans found himself falling asleep, wishing on whatever star from the surface that they'd all be free soon.

_And suddenly, he was in a world without color. Everywhere he looked around him, the usually cheerful Snowdin seemed dead. No one was outside. The lights on the welcome sign on the outside of town, burnt out, the lights on the tree, gone, the lights on his house and at Grillby's, dull and uninviting. As he walked through this perverted version of his usually colorful happy town, making his way to his home, he noticed that his mailbox was overflowing with letters. He picked one of the envelopes up from off the ground and studied it before ripping the letter open. As he read, he noticed that the writing wasn't letters, but in fact strange symbols. A strong breeze made him shudder as he decided it was best to go inside._

_His home, usually loud and roaring with Papyrus and Undyne's laughter, dead silent. He climbed up the stairs to his room, dully taking notice of how empty and dark the house was. "Papyrus?" He called out for his brother, with no answer. Puzzled, he first stopped at Papyrus' door, giving a light knock. "Pap, are you in there?" He waited a few seconds before frowning. No answer... He opened the door. Papyrus wasn't there. Weird... He closed the door to his brother's room and made his way to his own room. He plopped down on this bed, looking around the room. Something seemed... Off..._

_Taking his phone out of his pocket, he unlocked the device before pulling the notification bar down. His eyes went wide. What the hell? Since when was it the year 2015? Sure enough, he checked the calendar app, and it still read the same thing as on his phone. Tuesday, September 15th, 2015. He had been in late May of 2011 a moment ago, this had to be a dream._

_No, not a dream. A nightmare. He turned his phone off and abandoned it on the floor as he scanned the room for clues, something to tell him why he was having this nightmare, something to tell him why he was the only person here, something to tell him where the hell Gaster was, and where the hell his brother was. The only thing he found was the half heart wooden necklace in the drawer that belonged to Gaster. It once had 'Dings' carved into the wood, but now it was scratched out to the point of not being able to read it. The only thing that told Sans that this was Gaster's was the fact that his own necklace still hung around his neck. He found nothing else in the room but a picture of him and the scientist, the words 'Don't Forget' written in a very hasty seeming manner on the bottom of the picture in permanent marker. Gaster's face seemed blurred out._

_And now, despite nothing truly out of the ordinary really happening so far (except for like, everything), Sans felt himself on the verge of a full-fledged panic attack. He felt grief and didn't know why. His breathing became almost erratic. He sat back down on the bed, trying to calm himself down. Right now wasn't the time for this. Deep breath in, hold. Deep breath out. He repeated that a few times over until he was back in control. Right... Gotta go find Papyrus._

_Snowdin seemed colder than usual as he stepped out his front door. He heard the crunch of snow underneath his pink, fluffy slippers as he walked forward, and the howl of the wind. The fog started to become really thick near the edge of town. Sans had to cover his eyes with his arm to stop snowdrift from the trees blasting him in the face. As soon as the breeze stopped, and the snowdrift ceased, Sans dropped his arm back down to his side, feeling his breath catch in his throat as a red scarf sat in stark contrast to the white snow, a tuft of brown, fluffy hair also making an appearance._

And then, he woke up,  _screaming_. He felt cold sweat drip down his forehead as he tried to control his breathing, and could hear Gaster next to him, saying something. He heard his brother run up the stairs and slam his room door open, asking what was wrong as he assumed Gaster was answering the young boy, but he couldn't, in this state, make any sense out of anything. Instead, he just covered his face with his hands as he continued to hyperventilate as he became hyper-aware of the small, circular patterns being rubbed into his back by familiar slender, bandaged hands. Tears were streaming down his face, which he felt burning red hot in embarrassment. He would never have wanted either of them to see him like this...

"Sans? Sans, what's wrong?" The first thing he was able to register was Papyrus' voice. The older brother immediately wrapped his arms around the younger in a tight hug, and Papyrus didn't hesitate to return the action. After all, his brother was upset, and hugs were some of the best medicine. It was almost odd to hear Sans breathing so heavily. His older brother was usually so cool and composed, and now he just seemed scared. Breath shaky, body quaking in fear, the grip his older brother had on him never faltering. 

"Thank stars you're okay..." It didn't sound like Sans had meant to be that upfront about what he was thinking, but had done so, anyway. His voice cracked and shook when he spoke. Papyrus looked over Sans' shoulder to Gaster, who was still trying to soothe his distressed partner in any way he could think of. 

"It's okay, brother... It was just a bad dream..." Papyrus said. He hugged his older brother tighter. "Everyone is okay."

Sans had calmed down, for the most part, at least. He took a shaky breath in and out. "Yeah... I guess you're right, Pap..."

"Of course I'm right. I'm always right." Papyrus replied confidently. Sans chuckled dryly.

"You're the greatest, bro." Sans said. He sighed, and laughed again, though there wasn't any humor behind it. "I'm okay now. You go try to get some rest, okay, kiddo? Promise I won't scream and wake you up again."

The young boy yawned, almost as if on cue. He let go of Sans, who slowly let go of him. "Okay... Have sweet dreams the rest of the night, Sans." He stood and walked to the doorway, pausing there to hear Sans' response.

"I'll try." Sans said. "Goodnight. I love you."

"I love you, too, Sans. Nighty night." And with that, Papyrus walked next door to his own room and fell asleep within moments.

Sans and the scientist laid back down silently, and Sans found himself clinging to Gaster. Gaster sighed as he wrapped his arms back around Sans' small frame. "Are you okay now, Sans...?"

Sans nodded. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry... You probably wouldn't have had such a bad nightmare if it weren't for that movie."

Sans sighed. "It wasn't the movie. This happens a lot. It has, all my life." He snuggled closer to Gaster not really sure what else to say for a few moments. The dark room fell silent. "You still awake...?" He asked quietly after a few minutes.

"Hm...?" Gaster mumbled.

"Thanks... For being here, and helping." Sans replied. He yawned, and could already feel fatigue pulling him back in.

"You're welcome." Gaster said, also yawning. Needless to say, they were both going to feel bone tired at work tomorrow. "I love you, Sans."

"I love you, too, Gaster." Sans said. With that, the pair fell back asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently, I'm a workaholic now. Two chapters in less than 24 hours??? What???
> 
> Either way, I hoped you guys all enjoyed the chapter. If you could take a couple seconds to leave a kudos and a comment, I'd really appreciate it. You guys' feedback helps me continue to write this fanfic.
> 
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> That's all I have to say. Bye.
> 
> \- Felix


	22. Chapter Twenty-Two - A Conversation Worth Having With No Alcohol, But. Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans invites Gaster to Grillby's with the intention of getting himself pissed drunk to finally be able to tell Gaster how he's feeling. Gaster is worried about him, to say the least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Twenty-Two - A Conversation Worth Having With No Alcohol, But. (Part 1)
> 
> Aka the only chapter title long enough that I felt it would get lost
> 
> The rest of the title is, of course, 'I need to get hammered in order to be able to articulate my feelings'

The buzz of machinery was a normal sound to hear now in the lab. King Asgore himself was impressed to see Gaster so thrilled about his work again. After the first few years of his employment as the Royal Scientist, and after the Core's completion, Gaster had lost his creative spark for science and from then on only worked on things he was told. He didn't seem particularly happy with his job anymore. Now he had two assistants and was working harder than ever on a project. A personal project, mind you, but he still seemed to be having more fun with being the Royal Scientist than he ever had. The King had a feeling Sans was responsible for that.

The reason he felt Sans was the one to thank for this rejuvenated version of his friend was how the two interacted in the workspace. On a day when Asgore had requested to observe their work process (Gaster actually said yes to this, another thing that hadn't happened in a while since he was particularly shy), Sans seemed to be making sure to annoy Gaster as much as he could, and Gaster just joined in with it. "You've gotta stop working so hard, Dings. You're gonna work yourself-"

"Sans, if you make that same joke again, I swear I will fire you." Gaster chuckled.

"Down to the bone." And with the use of his magic, Sans made a bone appear. Asgore chuckled as Sans grinned. The scientist shook his head, smiling. Luckily, they couldn't see his smile. His head was literally stuck in his work. He was working under the hood of The Void, labcoat dirty and covered in oil. He was probably going to need a new one.

"You're absolutely ridiculous, Sans. Hand me a screwdriver, please."

"The pointy one, or the flat one?" Sans asked.

Gaster rolled his eyes, sighing. "The pointy one." Sans put the screwdriver in his partner's hand, who then used it to tighten a loose screw. Wouldn't want any loose parts in a machine this important, after all. Who knew what would happen if it malfunctioned due to simple human error? "Thank you." He said.

"No problemo, Gast." Sans replied. Gaster turned his head around to look at his assistant. The King stood behind Sans, towering over him. It felt weird to have Asgore here. After all, he wasn't used to being so stiff at work. The day he'd hired Alphys was also an exception. He didn't know why, but he didn't feel comfortable being so informal in the workspace unless only Sans was around. Still, the mischevious way Sans was grinning was beginning to wear off on Gaster. He became more and more comfortable with just being himself, as much as a part of him still screamed to be professional in front of his boss and the most respected person in the Underground, King Asgore Dreemurr himself.

"You've got a bit of dirt on your face, Sans."

Sans snorted. "Good eye,  _mom_."

"Don't you give me that tone of voice, young man." Gaster pointed the screwdriver accusingly at his partner, trying to wipe the smile off his face as the King continued to watch the pair in amusement. "You wash that dirt off your face in the washroom when we're done here, or you're grounded."

Sans raised a brow. "Oh, I'm grounded, am I?"

"Yes, that's what I said." The scientist stood upright, closing the hood of The Void and dusting his hands off. "But, of course, you're a grown man, so I don't have the authority to ground you."

Sans laughed, and so did Asgore. Gaster couldn't seem to wipe the smile off his face today. His best friend and his partner, both in the same room as him. Bad jokes, good friends... Working in the lab had never been so friendly and entertaining.

Alphys, who had yet to enter the scene, decided right now, the almost end of the workday was the best time to appear. She shyly walked into the room as Gaster was hanging up his dirty labcoat. He looked over to her. "Alphys, what work have you done today?"

She stumbled over her own words for a moment before forming an understandable sentence. "W-well, I, um, I took the liberty o-of going over some old lab notes on the process of the Core, j-j-just to get myself caught up, of course, and I, um, I added some st-sticky notes with my personal thoughts on wh-where the Core could be improved." Her eyes grew wide. "N-n-not that it doesn't already function wonderfully...! I-I-I-I just had some ideas as I was reading, and figured that maybe you'd want to maybe look into them maybe?" She laughed nervously.

"I'll make sure to go over them tonight if you could hand them to me?" Gaster said. The anxious blonde held out a shaky hand, a beat up notebook in her hand. Gaster instantly recognized it as some of his later work on the Core, so these were set in stone plans. He wondered where Alphys thought it could be improved. Before, he would have sulked that his work wasn't perfect, but now he was just willing to do whatever in the name of discovery. 

That aside, he took the notebook from her, tucking it under his arm. "Thank you, Alphys. You may go home early if you'd like." There were only ten more minutes until the end of the day, and since today was Thursday, it was the end of the week.

"Th-thank you, Dr. Gaster." She said. She scurried off before she could be questioned, or something.

"Have a good weekend, Alph...!" Sans yelled over as she exited. He looked back over to Gaster. The King stood, walking over to the scientist.

"Thank you for letting me observe today, Gaster." He said.

"No problem, old friend." Gaster said. "After all, I couldn't just leave you in that castle all by yourself all day. Feel free to come by whenever."

The King lowered his voice, but Sans still heard him, his face flushing pink. Gaster also flushed. "Am I right to assume there is something between you and your assistant?"

"Uhhh..." Gaster said. He looked over to Sans for some kind of help. The only thing the smaller male did was nod. Suppose there was no use in keeping it a secret anymore. "Yes, we've been together for a little over a month now. Almost two months."

Asgore chuckled, patting his friend's back. "See? What did I tell you? I knew you liked him."

"Yes, yes, you were right. Moving on." Aaaaand he was back to normal. Asgore shook his head. He had a feeling Gaster was going to continue to be stubborn for the rest of his days.

"I must tend to other duties now. Have a good weekend, you two."

"Thanks, Fluffybuns." Sans said.

"Thank you, your Majesty." The scientist finished putting the tools away as the King took his leave, leaving Sans and Gaster alone in the lab once again. The scientist looked over at the shorter male, who had apparently decided to spit-wash the muck off his face instead of using normal cleaning stuff, like soap and water. "You're not gonna be able to get it all like that."

Sans shrugged, a playful look from his earlier antics still on his face. "Oh, well. 'M takin' a shower tonight, anyway." He hopped down from the table he'd been sitting on- a habit Gaster had warned him about time and time again since he could easily put the table off balance and fall on the floor. The floor was concrete, and if he landed on his head, he could easily bust his head open. It didn't look like he was gonna give the habit up anytime soon.

"Tables are for glasses, not for asses." He reminded Sans. Sans laughed a little.

"You're really gonna say that every time I sit on a table?" He asked.

Gaster nodded. "Of course I am. The point of saying it is to get you to stop." He took his partner's blue hoodie off of the coat rack and helped the shorter male put it on. Not that he really needed help, Gaster figured Sans was probably wearing that thing at least eight times out of ten, but it was the thought that counted.

Sans seemed to agree. "Y'know, considering the uh..." He thought for a moment. "Environment you were raised in, you sure are a gentleman, Gaster."

"'Do unto others as you would want to be done onto you'." Gaster quoted. "That's the golden rule."

"What's the silver rule?" Sans asked.

"'Do not do unto others as you would not have them do to you'." Gaster answered. "Though, honestly, the golden rule already kind of establishes that."

"So, it's redundant." Sans said. "How are the people who made these rules so smart if they couldn't even get that those are basically the same rule?"

Gaster shrugged. "Who knows, honestly."

Sans looked at The Void. They'd made so much progress on it in the past week that it was looking like it would be finished by the beginning of next year. Considering Gaster had told him that he estimated before that it would be done in a few more years, two or three at the least, Sans figured they were making good progress. "Hey, so, uh..." He mumbled. "We've made some pretty good progress on The Void, huh?" He asked.

Gaster tapped his chin in thought. "Yes, we have. Now that we're focusing so heavily on it, I'd say we'll get it done by... March or April next year. It'll be nice to finally have a finished product, instead of an idea."

The Void resembled something like one of those funny looking cars that had a game named after them on the surface. It was small, and you could enter in a door and sit in a seat like a vehicle. It had windows, and the new lettering on the side really tied the look together. It could have used a paint job, sure, since it was only made of naked metal so far and the letters were the only choice made for decoration, but altogether it didn't look like it was supposed to do the job Gaster intended it for. It looked more like a time machine. But, then again, Sans wasn't the genius Royal Scientist who had made The Core and most of the things people used in everyday life in the Underground. That was Gaster.

"Wanna go out and celebrate or something? To celebrate all the progress we've made, and stuff. We could go to Grillby's." Truth be told, that wasn't the real reason Sans wanted to go out, but if that was what worked, then he wouldn't complain. After all, he hadn't really had a chance to go to Grillby's all that much since he'd started working at the lab, and even less so as soon as he'd started dating Gaster. He didn't want to admit it, but he missed his friends a tiny bit.

"Sounds nice. When?" Gaster replied.

"Tonight?" Sans asked hopefully.

Gaster nodded. "I need to go home first to change my clothes. Should I pick you up at around seven?"

"Seven sounds good." Sans replied. The scientist fixed his glasses, slipping his punch out card into the machine as Sans followed after. He opened the lab door and they both exited. He locked it behind them both.

"Make sure to get home quickly. Wouldn't wanna be wearing that jacket in Hotland." Gaster said.

Sans winked. "Don't worry, I know a shortcut."

Gaster blinked, and Sans was gone like that. So much for saying goodbye. Though he supposed he'd see him in a few hours, so it didn't matter. The scientist began his walk home.

Sans closed the door behind him, kicking his shoes off as soon as he got in. "Marco!" Papyrus yelled.

"Polo!" Sans yelled back. Papyrus hurried down the stairs to greet his brother, wrapping his arms around the older male. Sans returned the favor.

"Hello, brother! How was work?" Papyrus asked.

"Eh, it was work." Sans said. He ruffled his brother's hair. "You have a good day, kiddo?"

"Yup." Papyrus grinned. "I know  _exactly_  what I wanna do when I grow up!"

"What's that?" Sans asked, interested.

"I wanna be a part of the Royal Guard!!" Papyrus said excitedly, hopping up and down with a giggle.

"Oh, uh..." Sans paused for a moment. How was he supposed to respond to that? His little brother wanting to be a soldier? What was the proper thing to say to that? Should he shut it down, or encourage his brother? He decided that, even if he personally didn't agree with the career choice, his brother would probably be heartbroken if he shut it down. He had to encourage him. "That's cool, bro."

Papyrus giggled in delight. "Thank you!"

Sans ruffled his brother's hair again. "Alright, bro, I gotta go get ready. I've got a date."

Papyrus gasped, releasing his older brother from the hug. "Another date?"

"Mmhm." Sans said.

Papyrus immediately scrambled off, tripping over his own feet as he did so. Sans watched Papyrus with a confused look on his face. That boy was the definition of strange. He climbed the stairs into his room, opening his closet. He had to change his clothes. The ones he was currently wearing were mucked up from working with machinery.

A white dress shirt, a black pair of slacks, and a tie. The kind of thing he'd usually wear to work. In fact, that was literally what he wore to work most days. He didn't really wear khaki pants. In his opinion, khaki was just ugly. But, he digresses. This didn't really feel like a time for formal wear, so he put the bland outfit back and instead picked out a tee shirt and a pair of shorts. Now he just needed to not smell like engine oil and sweat.

A quick shower later, and he was clean. He dried himself off with a towel before getting dressed. His hair was still dripping wet, but his hair usually dried pretty quickly, given how short it was. He checked the time. Six o' clock. He had an hour. What could he do in an hour? And then he reminded himself that Papyrus wasn't going with, and he would need something to eat. He was still very wary of leaving Papyrus home alone, but his brother was getting to that age where he could potentially do things on his own. Tall enough to reach the stove, intelligent enough to dial 911 if anything went wrong and he couldn't contact Sans. It wasn't like Sans was going very far tonight. Just to Grillby's. If Papyrus really needed his brother, he was only a short walk away. What's the worst that could happen?

He quickly finished cooking for Papyrus, and now it was 6:20. Still forty more minutes. He flopped on the couch. What to do...?

Forty minutes went by excruciatingly slow. It probably would have helped if he stopped looking at the time every few minutes, but regardless, a knock suddenly sounded from the door, and he darted over, opening it. Yup, there was Gaster. Right on time, as always. "You ready?" Gaster asked.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Sans looked over to Papyrus. "Dinner is on the stove, heat it up when you get hungry."

"Okie dokie." Papyrus replied. "Have a good time, brother and Dr. Gaster!"

"That was the plan." Gaster replied.

"Be good, don't open the door for anyone but me, and call if something's wrong. Got it?" Sans said.

"Got it." Papyrus said. He got up and shoved Sans out the door before he could protest or react in any way. "Goodnight, have fun!" SLAM. The door closed. Papyrus wasn't exactly good at being gentle with these kinds of things. He hung up the phone by slamming it down on the receiver, too.

Sans looked up at Gaster in the dim light. The other looked like he was still trying to process what had just happened. "Your brother definitely is... Interesting." The scientist hummed. He looked down at his shorter partner.

"He's got a unique way of viewing the world. Definitely didn't get it from me." Sans replied. The pair started walking towards Grillby's.

"You've been kind of quiet lately." Gaster said.

"Well, uh. To pa _tell_ a you the truth," of course he found a way to drop a bone pun in there. "I'd be lying if I said there wasn't something on my mind." Sans rubbed the back of his neck, a nervous kink Gaster had noticed ages ago. "But, I don't really wanna talk about it, yet. That's, um, part of the reason I wanted to go out tonight."

"I had a feeling." Gaster said. They stopped in front of the door, and Gaster held it open for Sans.

"Still a gentleman, Gaster." Sans said. He walked into the establishment, and Gaster followed behind.

The warmth of the building was almost shocking after having been in the chill of Snowdin for the past few minutes. The heat rushed over them both, but Sans seemed to be right in his element as people around the bar seemed happy for him to be here. "Hey, Sans! Long time, no see!" One of the Guards said. The only thing that made that person stand out as a Guard was their armor.

"Hey." Sans said, or some variant like 'heya', 'sup' and 'hi' in response to all the greetings he was receiving from the bar-goers. Everyone here seemed to know Sans. Whispers went around the crowd of people, and Gaster felt their eyes burning into him as he and Sans walked further into the bar. Sans sat at the front on a bar stool, and Gaster sat in the empty one beside him as the whispers grew a bit louder.

The man who walked out of the door had curly red hair and a matching beard. His glasses rested nicely on his face, and he had a bored look.  _The bartender,_ Gaster thought to himself. The very one the place was named after. "Heya, Grillbz!" Sans said cheerfully. Almost immediately, Grillby snapped his attention to Sans, walking over to him and Gaster with long strides.

"Well, it's been a while since you've been in here, Sans." Grillby said. A mug in one hand, and a rag in the other, the bartender ran the rag around the inside of the mug before neatly setting it on a shelf behind him without breaking eye contact with Sans, slinging the rag onto his shoulder.

"Yeah, I've been a bit busy." Sans replied. He seemed so comfortable in here, with all these people... Gaster wondered how he did it. "Two of the usual, please?"

Grillby gave Gaster a look. Not a mean look, but not a nice one, either. Just a look. Then, he glanced back to Sans as Gaster felt his heart rate and anxiety levels both go up at the same time. He gave a curt nod before reaching under the bar and taking out two shot glasses. He set one in front of each of them, and then reached behind him for a bottle. 

The bottle was the same as the one he and Sans had finished while playing 'Never Have I Ever' a little over a month ago when Sans had been injured. Right, that was Sans' usual. Made sense. The bartender poured them both a shot before setting the bottle down on the counter between them. "Thanks." Sans said. Grillby said nothing more. He simply nodded before walking off to do whatever else it was bartenders did. Refill drinks, or something. The place had a menu, so for all Gaster knew, he'd gone into the kitchen. It didn't matter.

Sans knocked back the shot of whiskey, seemingly unaffected by the burn in his throat as it went down. Gaster had to wonder how Sans had such a high tolerance to alcohol. He followed after his partner, and the whiskey went down with a fight. Not that it won, it wasn't like a burning throat from a shot of alcohol was gonna take Gaster down, but still, a fight. Sans picked the bottle up, pouring another shot for the both of them.

When the bartender had cycled back around to the pair, he asked Sans if they wanted anything to eat. Sans ordered burgers for them both, and Grillby walked into a door labeled 'fire exit'. Huh...

They were both already on shot number four by the time Grillby came back out of the door and set two orders of burgers and fries in front of them both. By that time, Gaster had taken his jacket off because of how warm the building was, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Sans immediately dug into his food, picking the burger up and taking a huge bite out of it. Charming. Gaster picked the greasy food up, positioning it awkwardly in his hands so that he could eat it with as minimal grease on his hands as possible. Sans didn't seem to care, and grease dripped from his mouth down to his chin. The smaller male picked up a bottle of ketchup that the bartender had also left, drenching his fries in the red condiment before deciding to squirt some on his already half finished burger. They ate in silence as Gaster cringed at his partner's food choices.

They picked silently at fries after the burgers were gone. Gaster would have considered playfully stealing one or two of Sans' fries if the other hadn't drowned them in ketchup. Sans looked deep in thought as he dragged one of the drier fries through the excessive amount of ketchup still on his plate. Gaster nudged him lightly, and the other looked at him in alarm, having been pulled so violently from his thoughts back into the real world. "Huh?" He asked.

"You spaced out." Gaster said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sans replied. The bags under his eyes seemed darker than usual. "I'm just... Distracted." He answered, trailing off. He poured them both another round of shots, and Gaster wondered if he should stop him. After all, alcohol was a depressant that very obviously affected Sans in a negative manner (evidenced by his breakdown the last time they'd drank). But, then again, Sans seemed looser when he got drunk. Perhaps Gaster could get some answers out of his partner later.  _What are you thinking about?_

Sans knocked the shot back as soon as he put the bottle back down. Was it worth it to let Sans drag himself down so low just to figure out how he ticked? Why did Gaster have a sneaking feeling that that was  _Sans'_  goal? Would the other really get intoxicated just to be able to talk? It seemed like something Sans might do. Sans absentmindedly dragged a ketchup-covered fry through more ketchup.

Intoxicated or not, Gaster felt like tonight was the night Sans was gonna have a breakdown. There was no way in hell that this night would end in any other way. Six shots deep, and the scientist gently nudged Sans. "I think it's time to go home." He said gently.

"Alright..." Sans said. He reached into his pocket and Gaster beat him to it, taking some gold coins out of his wallet and placing them down on the counter before standing. Sans stood, a bit wobbly on his feet but not to the point where Gaster would have to carry him. The scientist slipped his jacket on before reaching for Sans' hand. People stared as they walked out of the bar, hand in hand.

When they finally got back to Sans' house, Papyrus was passed out on the couch, the television still on. The scientist turned it off. Sans started going upstairs as he did so, and Gaster followed after. Sans' room was dark, and the other had laid down, back towards the door. Gaster sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing Sans' back in a circular motion. Sans turned his head to look at the other. "Hey." Gaster said. "Do you wanna talk?"

Sans didn't say anything for a moment, then sighed. "That was the plan, but..." He paused. "I don't really know where to start..."

"The beginning is usually a good place."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is getting split into two parts, due to the fact that it's already really long.


	23. Chapter Twenty-Two½ - A Conversation Worth Having With No Alcohol, But. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans gets some shit off his chest finally, and Gaster makes a promise he shouldn't have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's the second half of the chapter.
> 
> Please do remember that if you liked the chapter, to leave a kudos, comment, and follow me, if you like. It's all appreciated.
> 
> Got any fanart, or just wanna talk? Here's where you can contact me.
> 
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> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I put a few hours of work into both of these parts. Remember to leave a kudos and comment and follow me. Bye.
> 
> \- Felix

The smaller male sat up on the bed beside Gaster, his hands in his lap. They were both silent for a moment. "I don't really remember the beginning. I was just kind of fine, and then, I wasn't"

"Tell me about that, then." Gaster prompted.

Sans looked like he was struggling for words. "I used to watch a lot of cartoons as a kid before me and Pap were on our own. That's the only thing I can remember from before." He shook his head. "The kids in the shows I watched were always having fun, doing all this crazy stuff, you know? It didn't feel like fiction. It felt like if I wanted to, I could have done all that stuff, too."

Gaster silently encouraged Sans to go on. So, he did. "And then our parents disappeared, and I can't remember them at all. Their names, what they looked like... And I went from watching cartoons to having to keep my brother and I fed and clothed and housed."

"That couldn't have been easy." Gaster recalled the times he'd had to take care of himself. Never for very long periods of time. Before they had died, his older brothers had taken as much care of him as they were able, even with them being victims of the same circumstance as he was.

Sans looked about ready to cry, the glossiness of his eyes just barely visible in the light coming from the hallway. "I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, it really wasn't easy. I kinda got skipped on having a childhood, ya know?" His voice was shaking, and Gaster mused that he hadn't seen the other this upset in a while. "And it might not have been so bad if I could have just give-given up, but that wasn't an option, because if I'm gone, who's-" He wiped his eyes. And now he was crying. "Who's supposed to look after Pap?"

Gaster wrapped his arm around Sans, a concerned expression on his face as the other tried his damnedest to not cry. It wasn't working, considering the more he tried not to, the more he did. Gaster, meanwhile, soaked in every last word the other said. "And now I'm all grown up, and it's too late..." Sans said quietly. "And I'm always just kinda acting like it doesn't bother me, cuz I don't wanna-" He hiccupped. "Don't wanna be annoying, or a burden, so I'm just kinda all alone..." He choked on a sob. "Damn it..."

Gaster wrapped his other arm around Sans, pulling the other as close as he possibly could, hugging him tightly and securely. Sans wrapped his arm around the scientist as he sobbed into his chest. Gaster ran his hand through dark brown locks of hair in an attempt to calm Sans down and soothe him. "Hey, you're okay..." He didn't have much experience with this kind of situation, so he told the other what he thought would be a good thing to hear in Sans' situation.

"I-I'm not, I'm not okay-" Sans choked on another sob, and this obviously wasn't helping. "S-Sorry, I-"

"Sans." Gaster interrupted him. "You don't have anything to be sorry for. You haven't done anything wrong." Sans only hugged the scientist tighter, to which Gaster sighed and returned the favor. "You can tell me anything, you know...?"

Sans was still, but a moment later nodded slowly. "I know... I'm sorry I didn't even try to tell you..." He leaned into the touch of the hand running slender fingertips through his dark brown hair. "I've just never had anyone but me... I can't tell Pap, he doesn't need to know about this kind of stuff, or think it's his fault, or..." He didn't finish his sentence. He didn't need to. Gaster understood by now why Sans would hide these kinds of things from Papyrus. Papyrus was a very impressionable, very empathetic kid. If Sans told him any of these things, it'd shatter his worldview.

Magic hands took Gaster's glasses off as he snuggled the smaller male more. "You're never gonna be alone again, okay...? Neither of us are..." He said quietly. "I'm here for you."

Sans swallowed a sinking feeling in his gut. "I'm here for you, too..." Gaster kissed Sans' forehead, the other, closing his eyes, relaxing.  "Hey, Gast...?"  
  
"Hm...?" Gaster hummed in reply. Sans laid his head back on Gaster's chest, listening to his breathing and his heartbeat, unbeknownst to him that his partner was paying attention to his, as well.

"I love you." Sans said.

"I love you, too, Sans." Gaster tilted his partner's head up to meet his gaze. The scientist mused to himself how nice of an eye color blue was. Especially such a light shade of blue. Blue-grey, he might say. His partner's light blue eyes seemed to flicker from Gaster's eyes to somewhere a bit lower on his face as his face flushed pink. Gaster closed his eyes, leaning in. Sans followed after, closing his eyes and waiting.

Gaster felt he hadn't lingered on Sans' lips for long enough, even after a nice few moments. Still, he pulled away, staring in awe at just how red Sans' face was. Needless to say, he was pretty red. Sans, meanwhile, hid his face behind his hair. Too bad Gaster moved the hair out of his face, leaving him exposed. Still, he felt he'd never forget the expression on Gaster's face. It wasn't anything out of normality, but there was something about the other's gaze that made Sans feel wanted for once in his life. So, when Gaster cupped Sans' face in his hand, Sans leaned into the touch, feeling better than he had before the night had started.

He thought that, maybe with Gaster by his side, life might not actually suck too much.

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

The bright 'sunlight' of morning eventually intruded Sans' room, peaking from behind his curtains that didn't fit the window correctly. It then intruded Sans' eyes, and he ended up waking up at a time way too early for his liking. The first thing he felt was the dryness of his mouth and a telltale pound in his head as his eyes stung from the harsh light. Hangover. Great.

Gaster still lay asleep next to him, and he wondered to himself how annoyed the scientist might be if he woke him up. Probably not very. That being said, Sans began to gently shake Gaster to try to wake him. "Gast..." 

"Mmmm..." Gaster mumbled.

"Can you make me some eggies...?" He didn't know where the sudden use of what was essentially baby talk had come from, but sure. Eggies.

"Five more minutes..." The scientist yawned. Sans didn't like that answer. 

"Gaaasterrr..." The younger whined. Gaster opened an eye, glancing to his partner tiredly. 

Sans was pouting, and it looked too adorable to say no to. Gaster felt cornered as the heat rushed to his cheeks. "Hmm...?"

"Eggies...?" Sans asked again. Gaster thought that it probably should have been illegal for a self-proclaimed 'fat lazy slob' to be this cute. This wasn't fair. 

Gaster sighed, admitting defeat. "Over easy, or scrambled?"

"Scrambled..." Sans answered. Gaster got up to go cook. "Thank yooou..." Sans said. He rolled back over. Gaster got his glasses from the side of the bed, slipping them on.

"Just warning you, I'm not a good cook." The scientist said.

"I don't mind." Sans replied. Gaster figured he should have been annoyed at Sans. Such a lazybones, as Papyrus would have put it. But, he wasn't annoyed. Instead, he was impressed at how well Sans had been able to convince him to do it. So quickly, too. It hadn't even taken fifteen seconds.

The scientist thought about last night's events as he cooked, Papyrus running around the house chasing a strange white dog in the background. Gaster had a feeling last night's events were the beginning of something a bit more serious between him and his smaller partner. After all, he'd said he would never leave Sans alone. It'd be rude of him to break such a promise, wouldn't it? He was gonna have to step up his game.


	24. Chapter Twenty-Three - Sing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster gets curious after hearing Sans hum, and they both end up singing for each other after a long day of work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify, there's a time skip from the last chapter to now. They were in May, almost June, and now it's December.
> 
> There's singing in this chapter, btw. Took me forever to find time appropriate songs. A shit ton of research went into this chapter.

Snowdin somehow found a way to get even more festive around the holidays. Gaster didn't know how it was possible, but when December rolled around, Snowdin found a way to get even more jolly looking. Lights everywhere, decorations in shops; Christmastime was perfect in Snowdin. One of the better parts, however, was the fact that Sans' birthday was rolling around.

Sans fell directly on the beginning of the Capricorn zodiac. If Gaster believed zodiacs actually had something to do with personality, he'd think Sans would fit the bill for his. Capricorns were known to be intelligent, caring, good with children, and determined. Besides himself, he'd say Sans was one of the most stubborn people he knew. Stubbornness could only be achieved through determination. You had to really want something in order to be as stubborn as Sans was sometimes. Sans' birthday wouldn't be for a few more weeks, however, as it was at the end of December and they were currently at the beginning. Good things came to those who waited.

Monday morning. Gaster arrived at the lab early, as always. After an hour or more of doing boring paperwork, his assistants finally clocked in for the day. A mug of coffee was set on Gaster's desk in a mug he'd never seen before with fake Christmas lights around the outside of it. He looked to Sans, who grinned. "I saw it and I thought of you."

"Well, aren't you just a sweetheart?" Gaster asked. He took a long sip from the mug. "As good as always, Sans." Gaster said.

The pair were no strangers to getting gifts for each other. In the seven and a half months they'd been dating, Gaster gave Sans a new couch (which was a story in and of itself), a promise ring, and a reason to live. Sans had given Gaster a few hangovers and a mug, not to mention that teddy bear wearing nerd glasses that apparently reminded Sans of Gaster. "What are we working on today?" Sans asked.

The scientist began rolling his sleeves up. "We're doing some testing on The Void." Gaster said. "I want to see if it can do anything yet."

"How are we gonna test that?" Sans asked.

"Just plain old lab rats. We can't experiment on a person, obviously."

Sans wasn't really intelligent enough to understand all the wires hooked up to the rats, nor could he understand all the calculations Gaster was doing on the computer but within the next hour, the lab rats were in The Void and ready to be tested on. As inhumane as this was, there was no way in hell they could ever use this thing if even a rat couldn't survive it. Sacrifices had to be made for science every now and then, and if something bad were to happen to the rats, so be it. Even Sans could understand that. Alphys didn't completely agree, but she was in no position to say anything about this.

"Alright, I've got them hooked up. I should be able to see their vital signs soon..." Almost as if on cue, three little meters popped up showing heartbeats, respiratory rates. "There we go...! Now I just need to turn the machine on."

"How will we know if it works?" Sans asked.

"I've got it hooked up so I can decide which area of the brain it will affect. I'm going to be targeting the area that helps them find food."

"Th-That seems cruel..." Alphys muttered.

"They're lab rats. They don't need to find food. We already feed them." Gaster reasoned. "If they survive the testing, and if they come out of this completely unable to find their own food, then we'll know that it worked."

"What could go wrong that it wouldn't work?"

"Simple human error, honestly. I could have made some mistake while working on the most important part of the machine. In that case, it could either do nothing or it could do something entirely different." The scientist handed Sans a notebook and a pen. "Make sure to take notes of your observations."

Sans opened the notebook to the first clean page he saw. Most of the other pages were filled with other things involving The Void. Other notes that he, Gaster and Alphys had written, mostly during the time from May until October. Work on The Void had been slow since the King had started giving them assignments again, but Gaster still seemed determined to get the machine done by early next year. It made sense. A machine with the ability to make you forget something- truly an outstanding thing. Who didn't have something they wanted to forget? Everyone in this world at least remembered something they didn't want to. The death of a loved one, a terrifying experience, a shitty period of time in their life, an embarrassing moment from childhood- everyone had something to forget, even if it was something as stupid as the song lyrics to a catchy, but annoying song. Everyone had something to forget.

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

It seemed now more than ever, people were beginning to sing the praises of the Royal Scientist again. After all, rumor was very easy to spread around the Underground, and if Gaster really was working on projects to prepare for the first monster to fall since Chara, then that made him a very productive and important member of society. Still, Gaster didn't enjoy the popularity. He hadn't when he started working there, and he didn't now. He'd more so just learned to tolerate the fact that so many people knew him. 

As the scientist walked his smaller partner home, people gawked and stared. Of course, things had always been like that. Before construction of the Core, making electricity had always been hard in the Underground. You usually had to be very skilled at magic in order to make electricity using water or wind, and even then, it was difficult to maintain. Now with the Core, electricity was available to everyone. Of course, people would idolize the man who had made life in the Underground easier for everyone. It was only common sense. Gaster should have been flattered, but he found it hard to be flattered when he hardly cared about other people's opinions. It was hard to make the usually emotionally reserved Dr. W. D. Gaster care about your opinion.

That being said, Gaster figured he had one of the only people whose opinion did matter to him right next to him. Besides Asgore and himself, Sans seemed to be one of the only people whose opinion actually genuinely mattered to Gaster. Sure, there were other people, like the former Queen, and Gerson in Waterfall and Alphys was brilliant in all of her work, but no one else came to mind. 

Sans, despite having lived in Snowdin all his life, still seemed amused by the cloud that formed in front of him as he breathed into the chill of the eternal winter wonderland. It wasn't long after they'd walked into town that they reached his house, and, despite its unchanged appearance, seemed more festive now that it was the right time of year to have a wreath hanging on your front door. The scientist had a feeling that Sans still wasn't going to take the decorations down even well after Christmas passed. Hell, Sans might never take them down. As far as he knew, those lights had been there almost as long as Sans and Papyrus had.

The front door creaked open and Sans and Gaster were immediately bombarded by Papyrus and Undyne, no surprise there. Undyne must have been helping Papyrus with his homework, as there was paper all over the living room floor, accompanied by a calculator, and a few pencils. "Sans, Sans, Sans!!!" Papyrus said excitedly, hopping up and down a mere few inches away from his older brother, barely giving the other his personal space. Papyrus didn't really seem to understand the concept of 'personal space'if Gaster was honest.

"Sans, guess what?!" Undyne yelled after, also hopping up and down. 

"What?" Sans asked.

"Undyne is getting Guard training from King Asgore!" Papyrus announced, still hopping up and down. Both Sans and Gaster wondered how Papyrus and Undyne had this much energy. Maybe being happy, young and naive gave you more energy. Sans wouldn't have known, and neither would the scientist, as they'd never really been able to experience any of those territories. "We're both gonna be in the Guard when we're older!" Papyrus added on.

Ah, yes, Papyrus was dreaming of being in the Royal Guard. He had been for months now. As far as Gaster understood, Papyrus usually latched onto some interest for a very small amount of time and then dropped it like it had never even been a part of his life. It didn't seem like he was going to do that with this specific goal. Sans had already addressed his concerns about it to Gaster in private. Namely, that the younger boy wouldn't last a minute in battle. Papyrus was forgiving, almost to a fault. There was a difference, after all, between being forgiving and letting people walk all over you. Both Sans and Gaster felt it was the latter for Papyrus. Sans looked around the room for a moment, and Gaster could almost see the gears turning behind his eyes for a moment before he spoke. "Oh, uh, that's great, Pap." He tried his best to mask the uncertainty in his voice as he spoke, and Gaster caught on quickly to that fact.

Papyrus and Undyne, however, weren't very good at reading body language. Children generally weren't. They stopped hopping, seemingly pleased with the reply before they went back to work on Papyrus' homework. Sans and Gaster both hung their jackets, and Gaster set his backpack by the stairs. He was spending the night. He and Sans seemed to be spending more time together now than what they had been a few months ago. The only reason Gaster ever even usually went home was to get a shower or a change of clothes. He almost basically lived in Snowdin and had been discussing moving to Snowdin with Sans for a few weeks now. After all, he didn't really like New Home. Snowdin was small, homey. Snowy. Grillby's was right there, so there was never any shortage of somewhere to go for a bite to eat, and the Shop at the edge of the town carried basically anything anyone would ever need, despite being so small. The Shop, apparently, had been the place Sans had gotten his signature blue jacket. The jacket was obviously well loved, as Sans was rarely seen without it and it was about as old as Papyrus. 

Sans flopped down onto the new couch. Gaster felt this green one suited the house better than the beige one with yellow flowers that they'd had before. The green one was also comfier. After all, the King had given it to Gaster. Of course the King would give his brilliant Royal Scientist a comfortable couch. Gaster didn't usually believe in the concept of regifting, but it wasn't like the King would ever know any better, and Sans seemed to like it. Should he and Sans ever split up, even if he grew cross with the other, Gaster had a feeling he was still going to let Sans keep the couch. It wasn't like Gaster had a use for it.

That being said, considering Sans was sitting there, that gave Gaster a good enough reason to sit down. He did so, and Sans shuffled on the seat so he was sitting closer to Gaster than he had been previously. The lazybones teleported the remote into his hand and turned the television on. "Let's see what's playing on the idiot box." He said.

An hour or so passed of them boredly watching the television. Mettaton had a new show it seemed. It was hard to follow the premise of the show if either of them were honest. Mettaton didn't seem to be the brightest crayon in the box. Sans usually complained about him in that very way. All brawn, no brains. The young T.V. star didn't really seem to have a purpose. Mettaton couldn't have been much older than Papyrus. Child stars had a generally bad habit of turning into bad apples in their teen and adult years. Gaster had a feeling Mettaton would be a prime example of that when he grew up. 

"Alright, I'm bored of this crap." Sans announced. The television blinked into blackness as Sans pressed the power button on the remote.

"Saaaaaaans." Papyrus drew out his older brother's name in an almost whiny voice. Sans looked over at him, raising a brow. "Go make dinner?" Papyrus asked.

"Oh, shit, yeah." Sans mumbled. He checked the time on his phone as he stood, starting to walk into the kitchen, continuing his thought; "Didn't even notice how late it was getting."

Papyrus seemed satisfied with his results, going back to his homework. The younger boy had started seventh grade a few months ago. If school was still anything like it had been only a few years ago when Gaster had been a student, he was sure Papyrus was struggling to adjust to the change. Admittedly, Papyrus seemed a bit slower than most kids. Even Sans had expressed that he thought Papyrus might have some sort of learning disability, and he did show symptoms of such every now and then. Gaster himself had dyslexia, which made reading (and a few other things, though, mostly just reading) a struggle every now and then. Though, he'd learn to cope with it pretty well by now. Even if Papyrus didn't learn at the same rate as everyone else for whatever reason, he still showed signs of being particularly intelligent. Gaster was sure that whatever it was that was slowing him down wouldn't be that huge of an issue as he grew up. He just needed a bit more time.

That aside, the scientist was just kind of awkwardly sitting by himself now that Sans was busy in the kitchen, and so he joined the other. Sans hummed something as he cooked, and Gaster thought to himself that it was a rather lively tune for someone as, um... physically inept (borderline lazy) as Sans. It was almost like watching a turtle speed write a paragraph if Gaster had to draw any kind of parallels. The song also sounded haunting, and the scientist found himself wondering what exactly was inspiring such a tune. It didn't sound random, but rather, composed. It felt like it was supposed to invoke some sort of feeling, and although Gaster couldn't be sure of what feeling it was supposed to invoke, he had a feeling it wasn't something positive. But, he digresses. It wasn't like he was a musical genius of some sort. For all he knew, he was interpreting it incorrectly.

He wasn't sure how long he listened to Sans hum the song, but eventually, he decided to say something. "You've got a nice voice."

Sans seemed to tense, almost as if he'd been unaware that Gaster had even been there. His face flushed, and he looked over at Gaster. "U-uh, I mean, I wasn't really singing. My singing isn't as good." He said. His eyes looked anywhere but Gaster's. Gaster thought to himself that it was strange how endearing he found this shyness to be. Sans wasn't a particularly confident person, but he wasn't usually shy, either. He had his guard up, and it was obvious that he did. With a constantly decreasing amount of HP and an even lower attack, Sans wasn't exactly the strongest. He had to keep his guard up. 

"Would you sing for me sometime?" Gaster wasn't even really sure why he was requesting such a thing, but the words had exited his mouth before he could really think about it, so there the questioned lingered in the air.

Sans fidgeted nervously before diverting his attention back to cooking, seemingly thinking of a reply. "Only if you sing for me." He finally replied. A few months ago, Gaster probably would have rejected such a request. Now, however, he wasn't too against the idea. Sans didn't really register in Gaster's mind anymore as someone he had to be anxious around. Quite the opposite, in fact. If he'd ever tried to spend this much time with anyone else, even Asgore, he'd be freaking out. Sans, meanwhile, he practically lived with. Boundaries didn't really seem like a thing anymore. Gaster couldn't think of a reason to have boundaries with Sans.

And so, the scientist obliged. "That seems fair."

Sans peaked his head into the living room for a split moment, and when he didn't see Papyrus and Undyne still kneeled on the carpeted floors with schoolwork and such spread in front of them, figured they'd gone upstairs. Okay... It was only him and Gaster down here, then. He looked back to the scientist, a bit apprehensive and almost hesitant to even try to start to sing. After all, it seemed like a pretty big deal. First impressions like this were always very important, and he didn't wanna screw up and then make a bad first impression. That being said, he was eager to hear Gaster's voice, and that wasn't gonna happen unless he sang first. But, he didn't want Papyrus or Undyne to hear him. Decisions, decisions...

"If you don't want to, you don't have to." Gaster said. Sans didn't really know how to reply to that. On the one hand, he didn't want to. Didn't want the shame if he was that bad, didn't want Papyrus and Undyne to overhear because of stage fright, but he wanted to hear Gaster, and he wanted to fulfill Gaster's request. He deserved that much. He nervously mixed ingredients in the pan as he thought of a reply. 

"Promise you won't judge if I suck...?" He asked.

"I promise." Gaster replied. 

"Alright..." Sans said. He sighed a little. "But, uh, not right now."

"That's fine. Take your time." Gaster said. Sans felt a bit of the pressure melt away, relief washing over him. Take his time... Taking his time was one of the things Sans was actually good at. Maybe this wouldn't go too horribly.

Undyne went home after dinner, and without her there, Papyrus didn't have much reason to stay up late. In fact, he went to bed early. It was honestly a godsend. Sans already felt burnt out from his role of caretaker after only a few hours of doing it. Papyrus was too energetic of a kid, and Gaster had a feeling he was going to be the death of Sans if he didn't grow out of it soon. Weren't the teen years usually when kids started calming down? Papyrus was almost a teenager, and he didn't show any signs of growing out of it anytime soon. He certainly was an... Interesting child.

Sans and Gaster both got dressed in something a bit more comfortable to sleep in. For Gaster, that meant plaid pajama bottoms and a turtleneck. For Sans that meant a tank top and basketball shorts. Given the fact that Sans' room was so chilly, Gaster had never understood Sans' choice of sleepwear. Nonetheless, it wasn't like Gaster was about to order him to put more clothes on. Sans was a grown man. He could wear as much or as little as he saw fit. 

Gaster had walked into the room after Sans, seeing the other kneeling on the bed, preoccupied on his phone. As soon as he saw Gaster's silhouette in the doorway, he put the device down. "Hey."

Gaster stretched as he walked over, kneeling onto the mattress in front of his partner. He yawned. "Hey." He said back.

The smaller male fidgeted nervously. "Could you sing first...?" He asked timidly. 

Ah, so he had wanted to wait until Papyrus was in bed and Undyne was gone. That made sense, given his current shy demeanor, even now that it was just them. "I'll have to warn you," Gaster prefaced. "I don't know that many songs. Music isn't exactly my forte."

"That's fine." Sans said. "Just sing the first thing that comes to mind."

Gaster thought for a moment. The first song to come to mind... Clearing his throat, he quietly began to sing. 

 _White lips, pale face_  
Breathing in the snowflakes  
Burnt lungs, sour taste

 _Light's gone, day's end_  
Struggling to pay rent  
Long nights, strange men

 _And they say_  
She's in the Class A Team  
Stuck in her daydream  
Been this way since eighteen, but lately

 _Her face seems_  
Slowly sinking, wasting   
Crumbling like pastries  
And they scream  
The worst things in life come free to us

 _Cuz we're just under the upper hand_  
And go mad for a couple grams  
And she don't wanna go outside tonight

 _And in a pipe, she flies to the motherland_  
Or sells love to another man  
It's too cold outside  
For angels to fly  
For angels to fly

The scientist decided that would be the best place to stop since he didn't want to sing the whole thing. Sans seemed enamored. He struggled for a moment to even find words. "You have a really nice voice..." 

Sans noticed the rush of pink that made their way onto Gaster's cheeks, so he was obviously flattered, but Gaster kept his composure. The scientist made a motion with his hand, encouraging Sans to sing. "Your turn." He said gently. Sans took a deep breath in and out. Right... This couldn't go too horribly, could it...?

  _If all our life is but a dream_  
 _Fantastic posing greed_  
 _Then we should feed our jewelry to the sea_  
 _For diamonds do appear to be_  
 _Just like broken glass to me_  
  
_And then she said she can't believe_  
 _Genius only comes along_  
 _In storms of fabled foreign tongues_  
 _Tripping eyes, and flooded lungs_  
 _Northern downpour sends its love_  
  
_Hey moon, please forget to fall down_  
 _Hey moon, don't you go down_  
  
_Sugarcane in the easy mornin'_  
 _Weathervanes my one and lonely_

His voice had only shaken a small bit as he sang, his gaze locked on his hands, too nervous to look at Gaster. Even once he finished he couldn't bring himself to make eye contact. When Gaster hadn't said anything, Sans had to force himself to make eye contact, just for some kind of sign of what the other was thinking. Gaster smiled a little. "You have a really nice voice, too."

Sans felt his heart rate go back to a normal pace as his panic subsided. Phew... That hadn't gone horribly. As soon as the relief had passed, embarrassment followed, and he imagined his face was probably about as pink, if not more than Gaster's had been just a minute previously. He decided to deal with the embarrassment the way he dealt with every other emotion he rather not have to deal with. With jokes. "We could form a traveling band. We'll be the singers, Undyne can drum, and Papyrus can play guitar."

"Pfff." Gaster chuckled.

"We can call ourselves 'The Fucksticks'." Sans continued.

Gaster gently pushed Sans. "I would never associate myself with someone in a band called 'The Fucksticks'." He said, laughing through his words. Sans smiled devilishly.

"Aw, what?" Sans said, fake offense in his voice. "You can call me 'The Legendary Fart Master' the second day we know each other, but you can't be in a band called 'The Fucksticks'?"

"That is correct. I do still have some dignity left, you know." Gaster replied. He rested his head on top of Sans', which wasn't really hard, given Sans' short stature and natural slouch. "I wouldn't actually leave you if you made a band called 'The Fucksticks', though. That was a joke."

Sans tiredly leaned into the other's chest, halfheartedly wrapping his arms around the other as a long yawn drew out of him. "Good, I'm glad..." He managed through the yawn. They both laid down as magic hands dragged the covers up over them both. Sans' tiredness was infectious, and both of them felt themselves drifting to sleep as soon as they'd laid down. "Goodnight, Gast... I love you..."

"I love you, too." The scientist replied quietly. He heard the click of his magic hands turning the light off before he drifted to sleep.


	25. Chapter Twenty-Four - Photograph

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans, Gaster, and Alphys watch an anime that she found at the dump, and Gaster starts to accept the fact that he needs a break.

In the past few months, work had become a safe haven for the three of them. Sometime after the first month Alphys had started working there, Sans' distaste for the blonde had ebbed away, and they formed something closely resembling a friendship. He wasn't exactly sure if she considered them friends, but he liked to think that she did. Gaster had also formed an acquaintanceship with his second assistant. Soon, the trio was holding regular conversations at lunch.

"A-And the animation is so nice and polished...!" Alphys said. She showed an example of what the current anime she'd been nerding over looked like on her phone, and both Sans and Gaster had to admit, the art style was appealing. "I found the entire box set at the dump!"

Sans raised an eyebrow. "Why would anyone throw something like that away? That seems like a waste of money if you ask me." The short male looked almost appalled, and, given his background, Gaster understood. Sans would have killed to have stuff like that as a kid. Anime and cartoons were basically the same thing, and Sans said he'd watched a lot of cartoons as a kid. 

Alphys shrugged. "I don't know, b-but it's their loss." She said, putting her phone back in her pocket. "Would you guys wanna maybe come over and watch it sometime?"

"That sounds cool." Sans said. He looked to Gaster as if awaiting his partner's response.

"I don't see why not." Gaster said. "The plot seems pretty interesting. Can't find stuff like that on T.V. down here." 

Alphys made a high pitched squeal, clapping. "Oh, my god, it's gonna be so much f-fun...! I've never had anyone to watch anime with...!"

The three had spent the rest of their lunch break nerding over the anime and planning when and where they were going to watch it. After Alphys had addressed concerns of her parents probably not wanting her hosting some sort of nerd thing in their basement, Sans had offered for it to take place over at his house. Pointed out that he had a flat screen T.V. (Gaster still wanted to know the story behind that) and a new DVD player. They could all sleep in the living room, and binge the show throughout the weekend. Alphys texted her mother for permission and had thankfully gotten it. Sans had texted Undyne, who agreed to have Papyrus stay over at hers for the weekend. "It's official then." Sans said. "We're gonna have an anime weekend."

When the weekend had finally rolled over a few days later, Sans, Gaster, and Alphys all made their way to Snowdin from the lab. Gaster and Alphys had both packed a bag with a few changes of clothes for the few days that they would be there. Sans thought to himself that it wasn't really necessary for Gaster to really do that since the other male had already left a few changes of clothes at his house, but he didn't mention that out loud since Alphys still didn't know they were a thing. Sans and Gaster wordlessly agreed after finding out about her anime interests (particularly of the homoerotic kind) that telling her they were an item was a bad idea, since her main infatuation with them being a thing would have been because they were both the same gender. She was still technically a kid and didn't really understand that it wasn't really supposed to work like that. Sans and Gaster were both particularly happy with it just not being made a big deal out of, like how Asgore and Papyrus had approached it. Alphys would have made a big deal out of it, no doubt. 

The screen lit up as soon as Sans had pressed the power button as Gaster worked to get the DVD player working. His part being done, Sans went into the kitchen to make popcorn. "So, what's this called again?" He asked Alphys from the kitchen.

"D-Death Note." Alphys answered. "I only saw the first few episodes before we planned all this. I-It's really good." 

Gaster put the disk in the tray of the DVD player, and soon the thing brought up a menu. Ah, so it didn't just start on its own. You had to press a physical button. The scientist closed his mouth, having been ready only a moment to yell at Sans to hurry up because it was going to start without him. Looked like it wasn't. He decided to join the other in the kitchen. "It's all set up." He said.

"Okay." Sans replied. He took a few bottles of soda out of the fridge, setting them on the counters. Sans mused to himself how impossible something like this would have been when he'd only been making fifty G a day as a kid. Now, he was making ninety G a day. Over a thousand G a paycheck, now that he'd gotten that ten G raise. It was nice to have some spending money. "Could you take these into the room, Dings?" He'd almost slipped and called Gaster by a pet name, but caught himself. He didn't like sneaking around like this, but he really preferred to keep it a secret from Alphys. So did Gaster.

"Sure thing." Gaster answered. He picked the soda bottles up, and Sans couldn't help but gawk at the fact that Gaster could carry three soda bottles in one hand. He kept forgetting that, although Gaster was lanky, he had a bit of muscle mass.

"Don't strain yourself." He warned jokingly.

"You either." Gaster replied. "If you need, I can help with that bowl of popcorn, too."

The popcorn gave a loud pop in the microwave, almost as if it was sentient and offended. Sans was sentient and was more amused than he was offended. He flicked a popcorn kernel at the scientist, smiling. "Hush."

Gaster stuck his tongue out at Sans before exiting the room and setting the soda bottles on the floor in front of the T.V., where Alphys already sat. She seemed entertained by their banter, despite only being able to hear it. The microwave made a sound after a few more moments, and after that it was only a matter of seconds before Sans plopped onto the floor beside Gaster and Alphys, setting the bowl of popcorn in the middle of all of them so they could all reach. "Alright, press play." 

Gaster picked the remote up, pressing the button in the middle to get the anime to play. It did, and they were greeted by company logos and then a minute and then some of the theme music sung in another language. Japanese, Sans thinks. He hoped the rest wasn't in Japanese.

The anime seemed to be set in a universe where humans were free, on the surface. There was no mention of monsters at all, but maybe in this universe, they were trapped Underground. The main character was named Light Yagami, and he was a student at the top of his class. The girls in his classes seemed to swoon after him for no real reason. He picked a notebook up, and from there everything went downhill.

They'd gotten eight episodes deep when Gaster had finally thought to check the time. "Oh, jeez, it's already ten."

"Shhh." Sans said. He stared at the screen.

"We're pausing it and going to bed after this." Gaster whispered. The anime was interesting, yeah, but it was only about twelve hours long, according to his math. He'd already seen how many episodes there were. At twenty minutes apiece, Death Note was twelve hours long. They were already almost two hours in, and they still had Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Eventually, the episode ended, and Gaster paused it. Sans and Alphys both gave him a pouty look. "We've got three more days and less than thirty more episodes. If we keep watching, we'll run out of episodes by tomorrow."

Sans' expression softened, and he sighed. "You're right." He said. Alphys also gave in, wordlessly agreeing with Sans. The three got in their sleeping bags and went to sleep, eager for tomorrow.

The next few days were uneventful, for the most part. Gaster would let them watch about ten episodes, and then they'd stop. Saturday night alone they watched up until episode thirty-one. When they weren't watching Death Note, they were playing Scrabble, or sleeping, or watching something else. Sunday morning they watched the last six episodes, and as the credits played on the final episode, it became awkwardly apparent that they were totally gonna have to check the dump more often for anime. Holy shit had that been an experience.

"He kept them going in circles for so long!" Sans said excitedly. "I mean, holy fuck, he had everything under control up until the end!"

"I know!!" Alphys exclaimed. Like the anime as much as he may, it touched some very important and unanswerable questions that people dealt with on a daily basis in such a unique way, Gaster wasn't about to yell over a foreign cartoon. It felt silly to him. 

Sans groaned in annoyance. "Why isn't there more?"

Alphys nervously started digging through her backpack, taking something small and box-shaped out. "U-Um, I know this is kind of weird, but... I brought a camera with, and I was kinda hoping we could take some pictures together...? This is the f-first time I've ever really hung out with friends, so..." It was a camera. "U-Unless you think that's weird, because, in that case, I'll just put it a-away, and we can forget I even said that."

Sans' eyes seemed to light up upon seeing the camera. "Oh, hey, an old-school Polaroid. My brother has one of those." He said. "It's not weird if you wanna take pictures." He assured her. 

"R-Really?" She asked.

Sans nodded. "Yeah, it's okay. My brother, Papyrus, likes taking pictures, too." Sans was starting to become acutely aware of how Alphys ticked, and so was Gaster. She obviously had some sort of anxiety. It was obvious in her speech patterns and mannerisms. She had a worse case of anxiety than Sans and Gaster combined. She needed reassurance and acceptance like a baby needed formula. Gaster watched as Sans and the blonde leaned as close together as they could. Alphys clicked a button on the camera, and a bright flash went off. It made Sans blind for a moment because of how bright it had been.

Sans and Alphys had taken a few more pictures before she took a few pictures with Gaster as well. She then offered the camera to Sans, who looked at her confused. "Do you guys wanna take some together?" She asked.

Sans gave Gaster a look, and Gaster shared the look. Well... "Uh, sure." Sans said, unsure. He and Gaster leaned back a bit as Sans held the camera as far away from them as he could. He clicked the button and the flash went off as the camera made the signature click sound. Sans once again got blinded for a moment, as did Gaster. Once Sans was finally able to see again, he took the picture from where it still was attached to the camera. In the picture, they were both smiling, and Gaster had put two fingers behind Sans' head. Bunny ears. He gave Gaster a playful glare, who shrugged as if he hadn't done anything. Sans handed the camera back to Alphys. "Thanks, Alph."

"N-no problem." She said. That was when her phone started ringing loudly, which startled them all. She picked up and talked for a few minutes with Alphys sounding more distressed than usual before the person on the other end of the phone hung up. "Th-That was my mom, I have to go...!" She quickly gathered her things. "I'm sorry to leave on such short notice, but if I g-g-get home late, she's gonna kill me...!"

Sans saw gears turning in Gaster's head and figured that if it were anyone but Alphys saying that, he would have made a very morbid joke. Whenever Gaster used humor to cope, it was always fucked up. Gaster held his tongue. "It's alright." Sans said. He helped Alphys pack her bag up. "See ya at work tomorrow, Al." Sans said.

"See you guys...!" She said. She closed the door behind her, and Sans and Gaster began to clean the living room up. As soon as they'd gotten the room clean, Sans picked the photograph up from the table. 

"Bunny ears? Really?" Sans asked. He wasn't actually annoyed, only teasing.

Gaster nodded. "Berlin really liked doing bunny ears." He muttered. "Kozuka always got annoyed, but he could never actually stay mad at him."

Hearing Gaster talk about his brothers was kind of heartbreaking. Yeah, his mother and father were behind bars now, and Gaster hadn't been killed, but sometimes it felt like the scientist would have rather died than go on without his brothers for as long as he had. Sans slipped the picture carefully into his wallet. It was a keeper, definitely. There was just something hauntingly familiar about the picture, and Sans didn't know why. "I still can't even imagine what I'd do if I lost Papyrus."

Red and white. Red and white. A tuft of brown hair and a red scarf in stark contrast against the pure white snow in an otherwise black and white world. Sans could imagine losing Papyrus. He had awake, and it followed him into his sleep most nights. "Just try your best not to, then." Gaster replied sullenly.

The mood had gone from playful to tense almost immediately. It felt like they'd gone from a playdate to a funeral in the blink of an eye. Sans hadn't ever even known Berlin or Kozuka, and still felt like he'd lost something. Gaster must have felt a thousand times worse. Sans had to think of some way to lighten the mood. He couldn't just switch topics, that would make it seem like he didn't care. Staying silent would have the same result. And then it clicked. "What do you think they'd be doing if they were here right now?"

That had been the right thing to say. Gaster was smiling, and although he still seemed sad, he seemed to be having fonder memories now instead of whatever horrible ones he'd been mulling over. "Bickering." He answered. "They always argued. I think it's because they didn't have anything better to do. They weren't ever actually mad at each other."

"What do you think they would have thought about you and me?" Sans asked. He'd actually been curious about that for some time now. 

Gaster chuckled a little. "Berlin would have warmed up to you immediately, and Kozuka would have told you that if you hurt me you'd be dead meat. He was always really protective."

Sans didn't really know what else to ask, so he hoped that had been enough to show that he did care. "I wish I could have met them." He said. 

Gaster sighed. "Yeah." He said. "Me, too."

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

The house was once again filled with loud laughter as Undyne and Papyrus ran around the house, roughing each other up and causing chaos wherever their feet touched the ground. Gaster thinks that the pair could be a hurricane and a tornado if they weren't people. Papyrus was more like a hurricane, gently bumping into things and milder in nature. Undyne was a tornado. She actually knocked shit over. Undyne alone might have even been two tornados. Now mix a double tornado and a level five hurricane. That was Papyrus and Undyne. Gaster had his whole body up on the couch as if the floor was lava. He felt he was in more danger here than he was in Hotland with the actual lava. "Kids, don't make a mess!" Sans yelled from the kitchen as he cooked. Gaster wondered to himself how the hell Sans had been dealing with this on an almost daily basis for the past seven years. Undyne was terrifying.

"Too late!" Undyne yelled. She continued to chase the still giggling Papyrus, and Gaster continued to fear for his life. This was how he was going to die. In the crosshairs of an epic play fight between a rowdy teen and her only slightly less rowdy pre-teen friend. Killed by his boyfriend's brother and his best friend because the pair didn't know the definition of 'calm'.

"Nyeh!! You'll never get me alive!!!!" Papyrus screamed rebelliously. He suddenly slapped a hand down on the arm of the couch. "Base! You can't get me, the couch is safe!!"

Undyne glared at Papyrus like he'd said something utterly offending. "No fair, we never established a safe base! That's cheating!" 

"There are no rules in war!" Papyrus exclaimed dramatically. 

"Guys, no cheating!" Sans once again tried to practice his authority as someone over the age of eighteen but to no avail. Gaster had a headache the size of Mettaton's ego at this point.

"I'm not cheating!" Papyrus objected. "All is fair in love and war!"

Undyne crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. "Nuh-uh."

"If that were true, we wouldn't be trapped Underground." Gaster said, his voice level and monotone.

"Well, damn,  _someone_  had to say it." Undyne muttered. Papyrus, with an upset look on his face, let go of the couch. 

"I don't wanna play anymore. You guys made it all sad." He whined.

Oh, thank the stars. Hurricane Papyrus and Mesocyclone Undyne finally died down. There might be some hope of survival, after all. Gaster hesitantly stretched his legs back out. No sooner did his feet touch the ground did Mesocyclone Undyne tackle Hurricane Papyrus to the ground. He drew his legs and feet back onto the couch like they'd been burned. Nevermind, here was the hurricnado aftershock. Papyrus and Undyne giggled as they wrestled, knocking shit over and being little natural disasters. For such a nice child, Papyrus sure liked to hit back. But, then again, it was self-defense.

When bedtime had finally rolled around, Sans and Gaster were both very comforted in the thought of peace and quiet. Not to mention privacy. They hadn't had a lot of that recently, between the kids and Alphys, they hadn't had much time alone since last weekend. Even though it would be fleeting, it would be better than nothing. As soon as Papyrus had been tucked in and read to, and Undyne had been sent home, the pair sat on the edge of Sans' bed, exhausted. "Another day, another dollar." Sans joked.

"We're not getting paid, and that's not even our currency." Gaster replied. "That's monster currency."

Sans only shrugged, standing from the bed and taking his wallet out of his pocket. He took the polaroid picture that they'd taken earlier out with care before gently putting it away in a drawer. It'd be safer there. He didn't know why, but keeping that picture seemed really important. He shut the drawer and sat back on the bed, leaning onto Gaster. Gaster sighed. Sans' gaze darted to the other's face. Gaster looked tired, and Sans wasn't sure if sleeping tonight would even make a difference. Today had definitely been... Emotionally taxing, at best.

Gaster seemed to agree, since he yawned, covering his mouth with his hand as he idly thought to himself that he was going to need to change the bandages sometime soon. The corners and the sides of the bandages lifted from his hands. His hands were more flexible now than they usually were since the bandaging usually constricted his movement a tiny bit. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "You ready for bed?" Sans asked.

"Yeah." Gaster answered curtly. He didn't have anything else to say besides that. No witty remark, no sarcastic joke. He just wanted to sleep so that it could be a different day. He wanted anything but to be awake for another moment as long as it was still Sunday. Today, quite frankly, just hadn't been worth it, and he wouldn't be okay until the calendar rolled over to Monday. 

Sans patted his partner's back in what was supposed to be a reassuring way, but Gaster found himself thinking that the formality just proved that Sans was tired, too. "Let's get to sleep." Sans spoke the magic words. The pair laid down, and tiredly, Gaster used his magic to turn off the flashlight in the lamp that wasn't even plugged in (he was still trying to figure out the joke behind putting a flashlight that was constantly dead from lack of fresh batteries in a lamp that would probably work perfectly fine if it was plugged in and had a light bulb) and pulled the covers up over them both. Normally, this would be the time when they'd say their goodnights and their 'I love you's, but it just didn't feel necessary tonight. Gaster was tired. Sans was tired. They both just wanted it to be the next day.

Gaster woke up to the smell of something cooking. Checking his phone told him there were still hours before they had to work, about three and a half. Looking to his side he found an astonishing lack of Sans. He groggily got out of bed, almost dragging himself down the stairs and into the kitchen where Sans stood in his sleepwear, flipping eggs in a pan. He looked at Gaster as soon as he noticed the other's presence. "Oh, hey." He said.

Gaster blinked and attempted to rub sleepiness out of his eyes, feeling a bit better now. "Hey." He replied back.

Sans flipped the eggs onto their other side, probably to try to brown them equally on the other side as they were on this one. "How do you like your eggs?"

"With a day off." Gaster said. "I'm not feeling it today. I'm calling today off."

Being the Royal Scientist, and the King's best friend, Sans had known for a while that Gaster could cancel an entire week of work or more if he so pleased. There was n't any limit on the number of breaks Gaster was allowed to take. The King had told him from day one that he'd almost rather Gaster stay home on a day he wasn't feeling up to it, as to avoid creative burnout. Gaster, of course, hadn't listened, and that's what had caused the several years long period in which the brilliant Dr. W. D. Gaster had only worked on what he was told to. "Uh, okay... What do you wanna do after breakfast then?" Sans asked.

"Go back to sleep." Gaster answered.

Sans wasn't gonna lie, spending the rest of the day off and in bed sounded nice. It'd be hard to even feel bad about not getting something productive done. Maybe a day off was actually even a good thing for both of them. Truth be told, Sans was feeling pretty tired, too. "Okay." He replied. He continued to cook.

Gaster went back up the stairs, grabbing his phone from the side of Sans' bed. Almost five in the morning... He decided sending Asgore and Alphys a text saying that work wasn't a thing today would be better than trying to call either of them at nearly five in the morning. He typed a message out before forwarding it to both Asgore and Alphys. 

__**Gaster  
4:56 AM  
No work today. I'm taking the day off. I'm too tired to get anything done. Might take tomorrow off, too.**

He'd typed the last sentence in the message hesitantly. At first, he reasoned with himself that he hadn't worked since Thursday, so to take Monday and Tuesday off meant nearly an entire week without work. Then, the scientist reminded himself that they were months ahead on everything they were working on, despite only being a three-man (well, two men and a woman, but this wasn't about sex and Alphys was just as capable) team. The soul containers were finished, even though he'd initially thought it'd take months, the Determination Extractor unfinished, but pretty close to completion, and even his personal project, closer to completion than he'd thought before. He could afford to take a week or two off, and he had the authority to. 

His phone soon vibrated, as Sans was crawling back into bed with two plates in hand. Breakfast in bed. They ate, and Gaster checked his new messages. Almost simultaneously, Asgore and Alphys had both texted him back. 

__**Asgore (Fluffybuns)  
5:38 AM  
Enjoy your day off, friend. Remember that you are always allowed to take a break when you need one. Do not overwork yourself.**

__**Alphys  
5:34 AM  
Oka, thank you for letting me know, hahaha. If you're not feeling well, I hope you feel better soon ...!^-^**

He decided that neither Asgore or Alphys would probably think worse of him if he didn't reply. They'd mostly think he'd done what any other normal person would do if their work day had been canceled; go back to bed. And that was actually what he was going to do after he'd finished breakfast. He put his phone down and ate his food, admittedly faster than he usually would have, and then he and Sans simply set the plates somewhere out of the way to deal with later before they both got back under the covers and went back to sleep.


	26. Chapter Twenty-Five - Children Can Be Evil, Sometimes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus and Undyne cook up a plan to kill two birds with one stone. Or, rather, the story of how Papyrus and Undyne both embarrassed and made the day of the Sans and Gaster power couple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> But, of course, with a setting like December, it was bound to happen eventually.

It was past noon when he finally woke up again. He wasn't sure how much later after noon, but the artificial sunlight that streamed into his room usually did so in the early hours. It was a strange detail to remember, but Sans remembered because his window was on the west side of his bedroom. The 'sun' rose opposite down here than what it was supposed to on the surface. That was probably gonna be one of the hardest things to adjust to if they ever got out of here. Of course, he didn't blame King Asgore for this missed detail. The man wasn't the brightest. He was just trying to make life down here a bit more bearable.

He glanced up to Gaster, who still slept soundly. His hand wandered to the other's face, moving a stray strand of hair out of the way so that he could see all of Gaster's face.  _Cute_. Sans picked his phone up and got lost on the Undernet for about an hour before Gaster finally stirred next to him. His deep purple eyes fluttered open, and then he blindly patted around the side of the bed before slipping his glasses back on. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty." Sans joked.

Gaster made a tired noise in response, reaching under his glasses and trying to rub sleepiness out of his eyes. "Hey." He replied quietly, more of a mumble than anything. A long yawn drew from him as he spoke again. "What time is it...?"

"Almost three in the afternoon. Papyrus and Undyne should be here soon. He gets out at 2:30."

Almost as if on cue, Sans and Gaster both heard the front door slam open and could hear the loudness of Undyne's enthusiasm. It wasn't clear what she was saying since the closed bedroom door drowned the sound a tiny bit, but what was clear was that it was definitely Undyne. No one else ever came into Sans' house screaming like that. Even the burglar back in April had the sense to be quiet. "I think they're here." Gaster said. 

"Yeah, me too. Just a hunch, though."

Gaster sat up, stretching and clicking his joints back into place. His body ached from sleeping on such a hard mattress, and he mused to himself that he should, at some point, spoil Sans further and get him a new one. That would probably have to wait until they got to the surface, however. Top of the line mattresses weren't exactly common in a place cut off from having any kind of resources to make such a thing. They were lucky to even have coffee, and Gaster couldn't even think of what he'd do without the caffeinated beverage. He figured he'd have to call it quits right there since coffee was sometimes all that even stayed down in his stomach, and given the fact that he was practically emotionally dependent on caffeine. A Gaster without a cup of coffee was a Gaster who looked, felt and acted like a zombie.

Sans got up, and Gaster found himself doing the same, bringing himself to his feet before realizing he hadn't wanted to get up yet. Damn him, he followed Sans out of the room silently without even thinking.

Papyrus and Undyne seemed milder today. Instead of running around like idiots, the two friends were instead working diligently on Papyrus' homework. When Papyrus noticed his older brother and the scientist exiting Sans' room, his attention immediately darted towards them. So did Undyne's. "Brother, Dr. Gaster, why aren't you two at work?" Papyrus asked, his tone dripping with... Anxiousness?

"We took the day off." Sans took the words from Gaster's mouth, which was fine because he didn't feel like talking.

"Well, if you have the day off, shouldn't you two be doing something?" Undyne asked. "I mean, when's the next time you guys are gonna have time to yourself? I hear the labs get real busy this time of year."

Gaster considered what she was saying. Despite knowing that she probably had some devious motive, along with Papyrus to get him and Sans out of the house for some time, he couldn't say she wasn't right. "She's got a point." He mumbled. "Christmastime is usually the busiest time of the year around the lab. We're going to be working pretty nonstop until after new years."

Sans had had a feeling that was the case. The workload had definitely started piling up last week. Having a day off today was a blessing and a curse in disguise, and he wasn't sure what he wanted to do. On the one hand, this was going to be a kind of lonely next few weeks. Sure Gaster was probably going to go to sleep next to him about as often as he usually did, but they probably wouldn't be able to spend quality time for a few weeks because of how drained they were gonna feel from work. Even the anime weekend had pushed Sans to his limits a bit, and it had obviously taken a toll on Gaster for the usually early to work scientist to want to go back to bed after breakfast. On the other hand, the droplets of sweat forming at his brother's and his brother's friend's hairline, plus the nervous smiles and eyebrows that tilted upwards told him they were up to no good. Papyrus and Undyne  _wanted_  him and Gaster out of the house, and Sans didn't trust it. 

Still...

His eyes locked with Gaster's, and he could tell the older man had already figured this out himself. But, Sans saw the gears turning, and so did Gaster, and they could both tell that the other was thinking the same thing. Why  _shouldn't_  they go out tonight? Just because Papyrus and Undyne were clearly up to no good didn't mean they didn't deserve to have fun for a few hours. The pair shared a curt nod before Sans directed his attention back to Papyrus and Undyne, whose faces still gave away their true intentions. "I don't see why not." He said with a shrug. "I mean, we're probably not gonna have much time to ourselves until Christmas, so why not?"

Gaster folded his arms across his chest and puffed it out, an almost judging glare being set on the children as more sweat formed on their faces, their expressions becoming a bit more worried. If he wasn't trying to be intimidating, he would have smiled at just how ridiculous it was for them to be as scared and as nervous as they were. The part that made it all the funnier was probably the fact that he knew Sans saw through the charade, and so did he. "You two aren't trying to rush us out of the house so you can do something you're not supposed to, right?" He'd worded it almost amusingly accusing, his words flowing off his tongue like little daggers that were supposed to send shivers down their spines as they panicked. 

Papyrus and Undyne held their ground, for the most part. The older girl scoffed and made a dismissive motion with her hand as if she was shoving the accusation, though as true and as obvious as it was, away like a child pushing a plate of broccoli away. "Nah." She said, dragging the syllables of the word out for a few extra seconds. "I'm just trying to teach Paps algebra, and he needs quiet in order to focus. It'd be hard for him to focus with Sans watching Mettaton even though he supposedly hates him, and you, uh..." She stared at Gaster for a moment, silent. "Watching it with Sans. Cuz you're both nerds... Nerds." 

Gaster raised an eyebrow, unable to help the small twitch his lips made at the corners, fighting off a knowing smile. Sans had made it pretty clear at this point that he didn't trust them either, but that they were most likely gonna go out, anyways. At this point, he was just bored and based on the fact that Gaster could see his partner actively fighting back snickers, he had a feeling Sans found it amusing, too. The redhead nervously played with her shirt sleeves.  "That all?" He asked.

Undyne nodded furiously. She really seemed set on making Sans and Gaster believe their fib. "He gets distracted easily." That part wasn't a lie. Papyrus had once stopped mid-story, literally in the middle of his sentence once to ask Sans what was for dinner, and then after his older brother had answered him, Papyrus moved on to an entirely different topic. He only finished the story a few hours later when Sans had brought it up. The story had been about his teacher. The next thing he talked about after that was about sugar gliders that lived on the surface and were primarily nocturnal. The teacher had been his math teacher. Sugar gliders had nothing to do with math. The boy would forget why he walked into rooms more often than the normal person, and Gaster had a feeling Papyrus might have gotten hit by a few too many cars if they'd lived on the surface just from lack of focusing on his immediate surroundings. There was a word for people like Papyrus. Space case...? Gaster couldn't quite remember. "And algebra is super tough, so we need absolute quiet so he doesn't get distracted."

Although Sans wanted to point out the fact that his younger brother could probably get distracted in an empty, white room, he held his tongue. Let the children think they were outsmarting the adults. As long as what they were planning didn't hurt anyone, there wasn't any real harm in letting them do as they pleased. They were both big-hearted kids with no ill intent towards people. Undyne, without reason and Papyrus with no bad intentions, even if you tried to get him to hate you. Neither had an evil bone in their body. "Very well, then." Gaster said. He looked at Sans, who spared him a glance. "Get ready, then, and we'll go somewhere."

Papyrus and Undyne both smiled, having been victorious. Sans was going to have to show them both how to make themselves not look so suspicious when they got older. For now, they both sucked at trying to be convincing. They'd been lucky Sans and Gaster were feeling so generous today.   
  
 _ **~~~~~~~~~~**_

Strolls hadn't really been a thing Sans was into. Like, yeah, walking was okay, and stretching your legs out definitely felt nice every now and then when standing idle in a cave Underground made you feel more cramped than usual, but getting from one end of Waterfall to the other by foot seemed like a chore. Unfortunately, Gaster had decided he wanted to go on a walk, and who was Sans to say no to such a simple, harmless activity? No one. The scientist had already taken him on so many nice dates that had been more catered to Sans' interests than his own, so he deserved this much. 

He had to admit, as much as he didn't really like walking, Gaster definitely made it more bearable. He glanced up at the other as rain fell from the ceiling of the cavern and onto their umbrella. The scientist had his arm wrapped around Sans' shoulder in an attempt to hold him closer and to keep him under the umbrella as much as possible. They both stayed pretty dry. The splashing sounds of water dripping into puddles on the ground accompanied with a light breeze no doubt caused by the artificial weather and the sound of water drops bouncing and rolling off their umbrella could have very well put Sans to sleep if he hadn't been walking. He wondered if Waterfall had always sounded this nice and soothing, or if the feeling was circumstantial and relied on other things that he'd been feeling.

The scientist looked deep in thought. His expression was blank, and he merely kept walking and looking in one direction- forward. Not to mention he was silent. "Gaster?"

Almost as if snapped out of a trance, Gaster looked to Sans, disorientated for a moment, as if he hadn't remembered Sans had even been there, to begin with. Concerning, to say the least. "Yeah?"

"What's up?" Sans asked. "You've been quiet for like, fifteen minutes. Is something wrong?" He added.

Gaster looked around them for a few seconds, as if he was taking in his surroundings, or making sure that they were alone. "Yes, I'm fine." He answered, looking to Sans once he'd been satisfied with his findings. "I'm just thinking."

Well, no duh there. It wasn't exactly something very specific Sans could work with. "Thinking about what?" Sans pressed.

Gaster cleared his throat. "Just random things."  
  
It was obvious that the conversation wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, so Sans closed his mouth before he could say anything else. It wouldn't have made a difference, anyway. The silence between them, however, needed to stop, which meant Sans needed to think of something to talk about that Gaster was likely to talk about with him. "So... I'm turning nineteen soon."

"What do you think about it?" Gaster asked. It was a bit of an odd question.

"What should I really think about my birthday?" Sans asked. "I mean, birthdays are just one year closer to death. It's kind of morbid, but that's just how it is. You're born, you live, you die."

Gaster nodded a little. "Some people barely even get to live." He replied quietly.

Like Gaster's brothers, and children who died at young ages due to accidents, or fatal diseases. Children who got sick. Children who died while still mourning the loss of their sibling in a world they'd never get to experience ever again. And, perhaps even, children who had never gotten to be children. Children who had been forcefully shoved into adulthood for someone else's sake. In some cases, that might have killed the child. Sometimes, you barely even got to live before your life was robbed from you. It was a sick, twisted fact about this world. A simple question of 'how do you feel about the fact that you're gonna be a year older' had turned into a conversation that shadowed previous tragedies. "I don't know." Sans said. "I'm kinda surprised I even got this far if I'm honest."

Gaster gave Sans' shoulder a light squeeze. "Well, I'm glad you did." He said. 

Sans looked around as silence swallowed them up for a few more seconds. "I, uhm... Wasn't in a very good place before we met." He said. "Fifty G a week just isn't enough to live on, and every job I was applying to wouldn't take me since I never got a proper education. "

Gaster glanced to Sans as he spoke. "But, then, I hired you."

Sans nodded. "That was the last place I could even really sign up for, too. Everyone had already turned me down before then. If that hadn't worked out, I probably would have had to, um..." He was silent again. "Sign Papyrus up for adoption..."

It was so goddamn difficult for Gaster, who hadn't had siblings in ages, try to imagine himself in Sans' position. The shorter male had gone days and nights without sleep and food for years. But, Papyrus was a growing boy, and so was Sans. They needed stuff like three meals a day, and eight hours of sleep. Papyrus had ample of everything he needed and wanted. But Sans? Sans would stay up for days and nights at a time, picking at his younger brother's leftover table scraps once he'd gone to bed underneath his warm covers in his thick, warm pajamas, while Sans would stay up a few more hours and worry about how he was going to pay bills and get the next meal for his brother as his ribs showed through his skin, all through the tender ages of six up until he'd started working at the lab. 

The thought alone was enough to make anyone with any sense of empathy and compassion feel bad. To hear Sans say he was actually considering giving his brother away to complete strangers because he'd be better off was just depressing. And he'd only thought that a few months ago, just at the beginning of the year. Sans was even anxiously biting his fingernails now as the scientist tried to wrap his head around the complexity of such a lifestyle in absolute silence. He was still afraid to lose his brother. "As long as I have anything to say about it, you shouldn't ever have to worry about that kind of thing ever again. There's no way in hell I'd even let you get to a point where that seems like the last resort." Gaster stated firmly. 

Something about that seemed to make Sans a bit uneasy, but he still muttered a thank you as if he wasn't trying to think about whatever leftover doubt he had. "I really appreciate that you even considered me, much less decided to hire me..." He added quietly. 

"I used to make all of my decisions based on facts, and statistics." Gaster said. "I decided to follow my gut that time."

Sans still didn't like walks, but he was beginning to enjoy this one now that he had a bit of reassurance for the future.

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

The door to the house creaked open, and the pair were immediately greeted with silence. Pencils and papers were still strewn about the living room floor, but a particular young boy and his friend were nowhere to be seen. Sans walked in first, standing in the doorway of the kitchen as he looked around the living room from the opposite side. No Papyrus and Undyne.

The door clicked as it closed behind Gaster, and you could have heard a pin drop as he joined Sans in the doorway to the kitchen, absolutely bewildered. "Where do you think they went...?" Sans asked. Gaster shrugged. It was anyone's guess as to where Undyne and Papyrus would go. With Undyne's love for adventure, and Papyrus' unconventional thinking, those two could have found a way past the barrier for all they knew, and it wouldn't have even been questioned. That, and many other things, just seemed like something Papyrus and Undyne would do. Although as entertaining the thought of Papyrus and Undyne literally getting past the barrier was, Gaster figured that wasn't the most likely story and that they needed to be found, and probably stopped from whatever natural disaster they were no doubt trying to, if not having already, caused. 

"Boo!!"

The yell had come from Papyrus, and then Gaster and Sans each did a bit of their own yelling- surprised on-the-verge-of-a-heart-attack yelps, more like- before Undyne made her presence known, giggling. Sans and Gaster both looked up at the adolescents as they sat on their asses, having been so scared that they literally fell over. Undyne continued to laugh at their pain as Papyrus grinned obliviously. "You shoulda seen the looks on your faces!" Undyne exclaimed. "That was priceless!!"

"Brother, guess what?" Papyrus chimed in excitedly, waving his arms around like a maniac.

"Sup, Pap?" Sans asked.

Papyrus didn't say anything. Instead, he pointed. Sans and Gaster both followed his finger and-  _oh_. Hanging from the doorway, unmistakably, was a few small plants with tiny leaves, bunched together with a big, red bow. Right above where Sans and Gaster had landed on their asses. Right where Sans and Gaster had been standing before Papyrus had scared them so much they fell on their asses.  _Well played_ , Sans thought to himself. The pride he felt for being outsmarted by Papyrus, however, was largely overshadowed by his embarrassment. Gaster seemed to agree. His face had already been kind of pink from the chilly weather, but now the pink on his face was deepening and spreading, becoming more noticeable as the fact of the matter slowly sank in that they had walked right into this by agreeing to let Undyne and Papyrus do what they wanted.

Gaster and Sans, two of the most brilliant people in the Underground, outsmarted by teenagers.

"You know what that means, right?" Undyne asked, in almost sing-song, shit eating grin kind of way. 

"It means you two gotta smooch!" Papyrus finished the sentence for her as more heat rushed to Sans' cheeks. 

"What's the purpose behind you two getting us to kiss, anyway?" He asked.

Undyne shrugged. "We were bored, and you're both easy to embarrass." 

Gaster watched the exchange, feeling several different things at once that never stayed for too long, got overpowered by other emotions, came back and disappeared over and over again all within a matter of seconds to a point where he was too overwhelmed to even know what he was feeling. Anger, frustration, amusement? He couldn't tell. What he did know was Papyrus and Undyne weren't going to let this go until they'd finished what they'd started and gotten their final results from their ultimate practical joke. To top it all off, Papyrus was holding a camera so he could capture the moment he'd tricked his older brother and his older brother's partner to kiss in the kitchen doorway under some mistletoe forever in a photograph, that would exist until it was too old and torn to exist, or something detrimental happened to it. "Cmon, it's the rules!" Papyrus encouraged as he held his camera up to his face, peering through the viewfinder. 

Sans was taking this better than Gaster was, not that Gaster was taking it particularly horribly. If anything, Gaster was moreso just still spooked from being yelled 'boo' at. "Uh, okay." Sans said. With that said, he leaned closer to Gaster, and the scientist could barely register everything properly before suddenly he was kissing Sans back, and he didn't remember Sans ever even leaning in. The flash would have temporarily blinded them if either of them had their eyes opened.

The kiss ended almost as soon as it started, and Papyrus took the picture out, shaking the paper a bit in an attempt to get the picture to develop faster. He held it out to the pair for either of them to take it from him. "There you go." He said cheerfully. Sans accepted the picture since Gaster was still kind of out of it, and Undyne knocked the mistletoe down from the doorway with a broom and a 'NGAAAHHH'. 

Gaster didn't talk much throughout the rest of the night, twirling spaghetti around his fork during dinner and barely even finishing his food. He didn't look upset, but he didn't look too thrilled, either. So, once Papyrus was in bed, and Undyne had let herself out through the (thankfully) open window, Sans put the picture in the drawer with the other one, feeling it was just as important, and then sat on the bed beside Gaster. "You've been quiet." He said.

Gaster smiled a little. Something Sans wasn't expecting. "Your brother and Undyne are definitely gonna get somewhere in life. They're smart."

Sans nodded. "A little too smart, sometimes."

"Man..." Gaster sighed. "Children are evil."

Sans laughed. "Yeah..." He agreed. "They can be, sometimes."


	27. Chapter Twenty-Six - Patience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freedom might be closer than they thought.

Gaster had immediately awoken when his phone started going off, telling him he had several texts, calls, notifications from Undernet, emails. It took his mind a moment to register it, but after a moment of confused, panicked scrolling, he'd gathered enough information to know what was going on. A monster had fallen into the Underground. 

No one had a consistent story on who the monster was or anything. Some said it was a girl, others claimed they were a boy. Some said they were a child, some said the monster was fully grown. Sometimes they claimed the monster was a skeleton, sometimes they were a monster species known as Astigmatism, sometimes a Vulkin, or a Shyren, but one thing was certain; a monster had fallen, and that monster had been found right outside the door to The Ruins, already dead. Why they died, no one was sure yet, but right outside The Ruins was the outskirts to Snowdin. The monster had probably frozen to death. 

"Sans." He shook his partner, trying to wake him up. Sans groaned. "Sans, wake up, we have to get to the lab."  
  
"I don't wanna get uuup..." Sans mumbled as he rolled onto his other side. Gaster shook him more.

"Sans, we need to get to the lab,  _now_." They needed one of the soul containers for the monster's soul before some greedy human decided to absorb the damn thing. "A monster fell, Sans, we have to go."

Sans immediately got up and started getting dressed as much as he needed to in as little of time as possible. Even this late it didn't feel right to go to the lab in a tank top and basketball shorts. He at least needed proper pants and a tee shirt. Gaster followed, doing the same thing. He rushed to do the buttons on his shirt, abandoning his tie and putting his belt back on. "Where did they fall? Did they find out where the opening is?"

"No, still no opening." Gaster said. "But, we have a soul now. Only six more, and we'll be free."

"And it's only been a few months..." Sans said quietly. Gaster could tell where the thought was going, despite the fact that Sans never continued it. Chara and Asriel had only died a few months ago, and already they had one of the seven monster souls they needed to be free. At this rate, freedom could be only a few years away. The thought of freedom alone was enough to give Sans enough motivation to get dressed as quick as he possibly could. This was it, this was it...! A monster soul...! One step closer to freedom...!

Sans shortcutted them to the lab and they grabbed what they needed before locking up again; soul containers, coats, IDs. When Sans shortcutted them to the place the monster had died, their body- or rather, their now scattered dust and the left behind floating culmination of their being- was being guarded by the sentries that worked in Snowdin. Sans didn't pay much attention to the science stuff Gaster was telling the guards so that they would be allowed past, and he showed his 'assistant' badge when asked before he and Gaster were permitted to step forward and collect the soul.

Sans held his breath upon first seeing the soul. It was in the shape of a heart, like human souls, but it was an upside down heart. It was rather small in size, evidence that it belonged to a child, or someone very small or weak, at least. It was an icy blue color and it glowed brightly despite the host's body being dead. It was see-through, like glass, and it looked just as smooth, too. The fact that it was the same color and about the same size as his own soul made his fragile mortality creep up on him more than it ever had before. 

He watched as Gaster gently guided the soul into the container without touching or disturbing the soul at all. Once the first ticket to freedom was safely in the jar, he put the lid on and screwed it on tight. Sans stared at the soul in awe still. Gaster gathered his thoughts and cleared his throat. "Alright, all of you get back to your posts and write a report about this, please and thank you. Your job here is done." Right, Gaster was the Royal Scientist. He was basically royalty. If he told you to do something, and you had a lower rank than him, he technically had the right to call the Guard on you or tell the King. Gaster rarely ever used his authority over people unless he was in a situation where it was expected of him to give orders. This must have been one of those times. Needless to say, the Guards listened, and Sans shortcutted them back to his house. 

Gaster dropped the professional act as soon as they'd gotten into the privacy of Sans' home. His face lit up like Sans had never seen before, and he himself couldn't help but smile at the situation. "We've got one...!" He said. He looked about ready to hop up and down like Undyne or Papyrus. "One out of seven...!"

"Six more to go." Sans said, quietly, happily, incredulously. He hadn't thought that humans would be freed during his lifetime, but now it only seemed years away. A few years after a lifetime and generations spent, finally they'd be able to see the sun. 

Papyrus creeped out his room, peeking his head out of their doorway as he watched the two older conversate loudly in the dimly lit living room. "What's going on...?" He asked, yawning. It was hard to believe Papyrus could get tired. 

"Pap, come look." Sans had said, ushering his brother to come downstairs. Blinking sleepiness from his eyes, Papyrus walked to them, eyes going slightly wide at the sight before him. He pointed at the soul before looking up to his brother. 

"Is that a monster soul?" He asked.

"Yeah." Sans replied. "A monster fell down here and died. That's their soul. One of the seven we need." Given that every person down to the youngest child had been taught that monster souls were what was needed to free them, Sans saw no harm in telling his brother exactly what was going to happen to that soul and the rest like it. 

"Oh..." Papyrus didn't seem too thrilled, but he smiled. The corners of his lips were tugged rigidly and unnaturally. Sans could tell exactly why. "That's um... Cool, I guess..."

Sans sighed a little. "Either way, it's starting to look like we might get to see the surface, bro." When Papyrus didn't reply and only stared at the monster's soul, Sans spoke again. "Aren't you excited? We're gonna be free."

Papyrus glanced at his brother again. His expression shifted as the gears turned in his head. "Yeah, that's great." He still didn't seem too enthusiastic, and it was starting to actually physically worry Sans. He gently grabbed his younger brother's shoulder, holding him still as he put the back of his wrist to Papyrus' forehead. "Sans... What are you doing?" Papyrus almost whined the words.

"Are you sick, bro?" Sans asked. "You're not acting like you." He checked the other's eyes and Papyrus gently smacked his brother's prodding hands away. 

"I'm fine." Papyrus protested. He broke free of his brother's grip. "I'm just tired. I'm going back to bed now. I have school in the morning." Papyrus started climbing the stairs. Sans frowned.

After the younger brother had ended up closing his bedroom door harder than he meant to (or, at least, that's what Sans hoped), he and Gaster exchanged each other a look. As much as he searched for the words, Sans couldn't think of a way to start a conversation after all that. The soul container was put carefully in the middle of the couch. "I wonder what's got Papyrus all annoyed..." Gaster mumbled.

"Yeah." Sans said. Me, too."

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

The Underground was buzzing with excitement for days before the hype finally died down. Everyone and their mother soon knew they finally had a monster soul. One soul out of seven, then King Asgore Dreemurr would restore hope and freedom and save the Underground. Sans, nor Gaster envied the King's position. 

Sans and Gaster were the ones to transport the soul container. Sans teleported them to the red and gold corridor before the pair continued, Gaster carrying the heavy container in his arms. The soul weighed nothing, but the glass was thick and sturdy. They finally reached the garden, where the King sat in his throne.

King Asgore Dreemurr had once stood tall and proud at almost eight feet tall. He was even taller than most when sitting, and his stocky body build had once made him look like a gentle giant. He still looked gentle, but now it was more of the 'I'm too sad to even sit upright, much less pick a fight' kind of way. The great King had his face hidden in his hands, his elbows supported by his legs and his back hunched. Almost as if he'd been crying. "Your Majesty." Gaster spoke up, aking his presence known. Asgore looked up from his hands, red surrounding his green eyes. He had been crying, no doubt about it.

He didn't mention it, though. In fact, he tried to ignore it all together, wiping his eyes with his sleeves as he smiled. "Gaster, dear friend... It is nice to see you." The greeting was stale. It felt all too much like it was rehearsed instead of a genuine hello. The scientist placed the container down on the tiled part of the room, avoiding the King's beautiful golden flowers. 

"Asgore, Sans and I have contained the monster's soul." He gestured to the light blue soul in the glass container by his feet. The King stood and walked over to them, picking the container up as he examined the soul. 

"The first of seven..." Asgore mumbled. He looked to his friend. "Thank you, Gaster." The thank you didn't feel real, either. 

"You're welcome." Gaster replied. Sans couldn't help but feel his partner and the King weren't even really conversating. Just saying things that sounded like things they'd say if they were actually talking. This felt different because they weren't saying the words the correct way Stiff, unfeeling. 

He didn't get to reflect on the thought for long since Gaster was already working on leaving before Sans could react. He followed swiftly after and teleported him and Gaster back to the lab so they could continue their work.


	28. Chapter Twenty-Seven - January

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sans awkwardly struggles with getting his thoughts together on a topic they've avoided entirely until now and Gaster starts experiencing dissociation.

He was waking up more often than not with small hands poking him and the body sleeping next to him. Papyrus was insistent in his quest to never let Sans and Gaster sleep in, even on days they didn't have work. It was evil, but Sans had told Gaster to let him do his thing and eventually he'd look at a crack in the ceiling, notice a house spider crawl into it, and then go chase it instead. It seemed true for the most part; Papyrus would usually stop because he was hungry or had to go to the bathroom, and he just gave up on waking his brother and his brother's boyfriend. 

Today was not like most days. See, today, Papyrus had eaten a bowl of cereal and then used the bathroom and then started poking Sans and Gaster. He yelled as he did so. "Wake uuuupppppp...!" 

"Bro, stahp it..." Sans mumbled, idly swinging his hand a few inches away from him in some feeble attempt to bat his brother away. That was difficult, considering Papyrus was on the opposite side of where he was swinging. "Go bother Undyne or somethin'." Gaster kept his eyes shut as the madness continued. 

Papyrus did eventually give up, but not before snatching the blanket and getting chased around the house by Sans and then wrestled for it. Sans won, of course, being slightly bulkier than his younger brother's thin frame. He got back into bed and pulled the covers over him and Gaster again. "You know there's no point in trying to go back to sleep at this point, right?" Gaster asked. Sans shrugged. 

"Either way, I still won." The smaller mumbled tiredly. Gaster chuckled. 

"You're ridiculous."

"You love me really." The nineteen-year-old gloated.

"Yeah, yeah." Gaster said in a jokingly annoyed tone. The pair somehow found enough motivation to get out of bed.

The living room was always the most interesting room. It was hard to walk into the room without recalling the couch incident, where Sans had teleported the couch from Gaster's house to his own, as Gaster had told him to, except he teleported the couch right in front of the doorway from the outside. It'd taken over fifteen minutes just to get the damn thing in the house before Papyrus asked why they hadn't just teleported it the rest of the way. The Christmas tree had been just as entertaining. Pine needles all over the floor by the time Gaster, Sans, and Papyrus managed to get it in the house, and it didn't sit quite right, slightly lopsided and too tall to fit in the house without the top branch getting pushed down by the ceiling. The tree, though mostly dead by now since it was weeks old, still chilled out in the corner of the room, undecorated but untouched since the day after Christmas, no one having the energy, time or patience to take it outside to die the rest of the way. Though, that could be teleported as well, so as always, they were overlooking Sans' abilities in the most obvious places to use them. Of course.

Things had definitely gotten more interesting, however, when this house started to be the one Gaster came back to after a long day at work. Moving into Sans' and out of the Capital was the best idea he'd ever had. Sans had immediately accommodated for Gaster to move in, moving all his clothes from the drawers to the closet so that Gaster could use the dresser, replaced the flashlight in the lamp with a bulb and plugged it in, tidied up a little, gotten a bigger blanket so that they could both be blanket hogs. Space was still kind of an issue as far as bed-space went, but it worked, for the most part. Papyrus seemed thrilled to have an extra person to annoy at his disposal, and Sans was glad to have someone to be there when he woke up from a crippling nightmare, so everyone was happy, right? 

Right?

Gaster felt chubby arms wrap around his midsection as he poured himself a cup of coffee. Sans rested his head on Gaster's back, leaning on the other, arms still wrapped around him. "Gast..."  
  
"Hm?" Gaster muttered. He stirred the sugar into his coffee before taking a sip. 

"Can we go do something tonight?" Sans asked. "I wanna talk about something."

Oh, a discussion type date. They'd had those before. All dates were obviously meant for two (or more) people to talk about stuff, but Sans and Gaster found a happy middle ground with scheduling dates where all they did was talk, usually about the negatives. Gaster had suggested it would keep them open to each other and their relationship would probably gain from it. So far, that seemed to be the case. They hadn't gone on a more serious date in a while since Sans had gotten pissed drunk and then had a breakdown about how he'd wanted to give up when he was a child. It'd been a while since Gaster had seen the serious side of Sans at all. "Of course. Where do you want to go?"

Sans seemed uncertain for a moment and his words came out as such when he spoke, too. "I don't really know where there's just somethin' I gotta get off my chest." He answered. 

"Would you want to just discuss it in our room?" It still felt weird to consider it his room, too, but he was sure he'd get used to it, with time. "I mean, only if you want to."

"I don't really mind where I just don't want Paps to hear it." Sans said.

"You could send him to Undyne's. He hasn't gone there in a while, I'm sure he'd want to."

"Well, okay." Sans said. Gaster heard Sans track down his brother. The siblings talked loudly and Gaster didn't pay much attention to what they were saying. Not because it wasn't important, but rather because the scientist found he was having a hard time on focusing, even though he was just standing in the kitchen doing nothing. "Gaster? Gast?" He blinked, looking to Sans. "You kind of spaced out there... You okay?"

Gaster hadn't remembered spacing out, but he didn't remember much of anything else, either. He nodded, shaking confusion and grogginess away. He still felt unfamiliarly numb. "Yeah." He answered, unsure. "I'm fine."

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

Sans had long since come to the conclusion that Waterfall was just the best area for dates. Not too hot, not too cold. It was a relief, considering any kind of extreme probably would have sent him into more of a blind panic than he was already in, and he tugged at the collar of his shirt to get rid of some of that pent-up anxiety as best as he could.

Gaster had been quiet all day, having not said much and spacing out a few more times since the time in the kitchen. Needless to say, they weren't out for very long before they decided to go home. Gaster had gotten chilly, and Sans was a bit too shy to admit it, but he hadn't eaten in a while merely out of old habit and needed something to eat soon before he turned to bone. Then he remembered he was a bit overweight and probably wouldn't ever be as skinny as he had been as a child ever again in his adult life. No, with Sans' lazy lifestyle, he was bound to be like this and even worse as time went by, and he didn't much care. It was a different topic for a different day. 

The door clicked behind them and Sans couldn't help but try to fill the awkward silence with some light-hearted banter. "Sooo, that was fun, huh?" He asked.

"Yeah, fun." Gaster replied. He hung his coat, still trying to shake the feeling he'd had since he woke up. Greyness. Comfortably numb for reasons he couldn't even pinpoint. 

Sans sighed, swinging his arms. "It's just you and me here."

"As you wanted it to be." Gaster said. His words were coming out odd, and stiff. Too formal. Almost like how he'd spoken a little under a year ago before Sans had started cracking the shell around him. He never wanted to go back to that point in his life, an anxious mess of a man who spent his time in solitude, body hunched over the desk in his personal office as he-

He shook the thought from his head as Sans began talking again. The shorter male cleared his throat awkwardly beforehand. "So, we've been going kinda steady for a while, right?"

Now Gaster was interested. The scientist diverted all his attention to his partner. "Yeah?" Where was this going?

Sans averted eye contact, sweat beading on his forehead as his face flushed red. "I wanted to know what your opinion was on, um... Things getting physical...?" That had been a dumb way to phrase it, and even though it was too late to fix it, and he and Gaster were both already thoroughly embarrassed, Sans tried anyways. "Cuz, I don't really know when's the right time to ask that kind of thing, or how to ask, but it's been on my mind for a little while now, so I figured I'd ask..." His voice became quieter and meeker as he trailed off at the end of his sentence.

Sans was asking about... Sex? Gaster weighed the options of how to answer that. "I'm not sure... I don't really know what to do." As had been discussed before, Gaster didn't even watch porn, much less ever do anything with anyone. 

"I mean, I  _kinda_  know..." Sans made a so-so motion with his hand. "Maybe we can... Figure it out? The only reason I'm asking is cuz..."

"Because?" Gaster asked when Sans hadn't finished his sentence. 

Sans sighed. "I've never had someone to do this with, or even an interest really. I want to with you because it would be my first time..." He trailed off again. "We don't have to right away, I just wanted to start talking about it."

Gaster didn't really know what to make of the fact that Sans was asking if he wanted to eventually do this with him. No one had ever really asked him that. It stood to reason, he'd only had one other relationship before and that ended because he wouldn't put out at such a young age. Had outright told his partner 'no' to his face more times than he could count, and then got dumped. Sans was asking if he wanted to. Not threatening to break up with him if he didn't. "Yeah, we can try it sometime." He answered awkwardly. "Whenever is most convenient."

Technically, right now was as convenient as it got. Saturday night, they could get wasted if they want and not have to deal with a headache and a hangover on a workday. Papyrus was at Undyne's. The question was still fresh, and the mood was tense. But, the mood was also awkward. So it wasn't happening tonight, for sure. "Alright, cool..." Sans clicked his tongue. "Great chat."

"Yeah." Gaster agreed dully. He sat on the couch and watched the T.V. as Sans cooked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note that this story might be ending soon...! I only plan to do 30-40 chapters. So the longest this might go on is mayyybe past Thanksgiving if I slack off that bad. I plan on doing another Sanster story after this and some Papyton if I can ever figure out how to properly write Mettaton. That, or I'll write for fnaf again or something. Who knows? I might even end up making this story the continued version of Sans and Gaster's story, just so I don't have to come up with another title and another book cover, but I'm not really sure about that either.
> 
> Sorry for another short ass chapter! I'm just trying to pump chapters out asap tbh. Next chapter will be longer, and they probably will do the dirty at some point in the near future, but I'm not sure because I haven't really written smut in a while. It might just be implied they did the do. I'm not sure yet.


	29. Chapter Twenty-Eight - Heated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans and Gaster have a bit of an argument over one of Sans' most unhealthy habits, plus some make-up fluff at the end of the chapter.

Mortified was a more accurate word than embarrassed as far as Sans was concerned right now. Had he really just phrased it that way? 'Get physical'? Did he want to die right on the spot from his soul leaving his body? That, unfortunately, hadn't happened, but with each passing moment, he found it hard to push down the thought that maybe now would be the best time. Papyrus wasn't home, and who knew when that would happen again? He'd need to build up the courage to even ask, of course, but... He went back to cooking. There was no way he was going to be able to ask again tonight. 

They ate their meal in silence, watching the same goddamn Mettaton rerun for the umpteenth time before deciding to turn the T.V. off entirely. "So, what now?" Gaster asked.

"That is a good question." Sans said, idly pushing his food around on his plate with his fork. "Wanna go get pissed drunk so we don't have to deal with awkward tension?"

The scientist sighed, putting his half-finished plate of food on the coffee table. "You worry me sometimes, Sans."

Sans raised a brow, poking at his food a bit more, torn between eating or not. He wasn't hungry, but he also hadn't been taking very good care to keep his needs met lately. Hydration, sleep, food, all tossed away from having too much to do and not enough time to do it. Between work, and Papyrus, and Gaster, Sans found that he didn't have the time to keep up with anything. "Why's that?" He asked. 

"Are you really that embarrassed that your best solution is alcohol?" Gaster asked. "I'm kinda starting to see an unhealthy pattern here."

Sans felt cornered, and not at all like how he usually did. This felt unsafe. "Okay, yeah, I  _might_ have a bit of a problem, but it's not like a couple of drinks every now and then is gonna do any lasting damage." He defended. "My health is already shit, I can't really do much else to make it worse. Drinking certainly isn't gonna be the thing to kill me."

Gaster was feeling a mix of negative emotions right now. Anger, concern, frustration. It was taking everything he had to not snap at Sans. This had to be dealt with in a mature fashion, unlike the talk they'd had a little under an hour ago. " _Why_  is alcohol the only solution you can think of, Sans? You're smarter and better than this." He struggled for more words when Sans remained silent. "I don't understand. You always just get even more miserable when you drink, so what's the point?"

Sans opened his mouth to say something, but then seemingly decided against it. He didn't know what to say. "Well..." He started. "I dunno, I just... It doesn't really matter?" That answer wasn't the right one. Gaster only looked more confused and almost hurt. "I mean, cuz nothing really matters. We're born, we live, we die. It doesn't matter how or when you die, or what from, because a hundred years after you're gone, no one even remembers you unless you do something worthwhile, so what's the point in doing much of anything?"

"The point is so that you don't affect the people around you." Gaster said. "Personally, I don't want to feel like crap every time we go to Grillby's and you get drunk because you end up getting emotional every time."

"What's even bringing this conversation up in the first place?" Sans asked. There was venom in his tone. 

"Because you suggested drinking and I don't want you to cry yourself to sleep tonight." Gaster replied. There was more concern in his voice than anything else, but the frustration did a good job at giving his words an edge. "Is that so much to ask? To not want to see you miserable?" The scientist was giving Sans a look, something mixed between worry and tiredness. 

"Don't have to  _drink_  to do that." Sans muttered, angrily eyeing the food that he no longer had any intention of eating on his plate. "If I wanna cry myself to sleep, I can just think of how much of a screw up I am." He desperately wanted this conversation to be over, wanted more than anything to not be arguing with Gaster, but being as much of a fuck up as he was, he, of course, fought back anyway. Things were only going to continue this way.

"Sans, that's not the point." Gaster replied. "I am  _worried_  about you. The things you think, the things you say, they  _concern_ me. I only want to help."

Sans slammed his fork down on his plate. "Why does it even matter?" He was raising his voice without even trying to. He felt a pang of guilt in his chest as Gaster flinched at his outburst. Neither of them spoke for a moment, and Sans was avoiding eye contact like it was the only thing that could save him right now. The hairs on his arms and the back of his neck were standing on end. "Why does it even matter?" He asked again, quieter. 

"It might not matter to you, but it matters to me." Gaster replied. "I simply just don't want to see you miserable. I didn't know being concerned for your mental health was a crime." The quietness, coupled with the uncertainty and the hurt in the scientist's voice was enough for Sans to start screaming at himself in his head to stop before he did any more damage. The only thing he was doing was worrying and upsetting Gaster. Gaster, who had been nothing but kind and loving. He didn't deserve to get yelled at, especially when he was right. Sans put his plate on the coffee table, standing as Gaster turned to leave. He grabbed Gaster's wrist, only hard enough to grab his attention. The scientist looked at Sans, and as much as he wanted to disappear and never have to look in Gaster's eyes when the other was staring at him like this, he still kept eye contact. 

Sans didn't know what to say. 'Sorry' wasn't enough, and the words to some heartfelt speech about how Gaster was right, and he'd try to stop just didn't feel genuine because Sans had never been the best at kicking old habits. He let go of Gaster's wrist, and the taller male didn't make any move to leave like he had a moment ago. He wrapped his arms around himself a bit in a bit of a hug. He suddenly felt tired... "I'm sorry..." He muttered. "Thank you, for... Being worried about me, even when I'm not..."

There wasn't really anything else to say. Sans hoped and prayed that the apology had been enough. Gaster ran a hand down his face. He looked tired, too. "I apologize for raising my voice at you." He said finally. "I'm in a bit of a mood, and I don't know why, and I guess you mentioning drinking only riled me up more. It wasn't fair of me to raise my voice at you because of something entirely out of your control. You couldn't have known that now wasn't the time to talk about that, and I don't think I did either until I started yelling."

Gaster was in a bad mood? But, he seemed completely fine on the date. Had he been in a bad mood all day? How long had Sans not noticed that something was wrong? Had it been days? Weeks? "It's okay." Sans replied. "You're having a bad day. It's okay to have bad days. We were bound to argue about this, eventually, anyways."

Even though Gaster had a feeling Sans would say something like that, it just felt like they were dancing around what they'd been arguing about in the first place. Made sense. Of course neither of them wanted to start another fight. Arguments were equally unsettling to both of them. Neither had a mean bone in their body. Why would they want to argue? Still, the topic would get completely ignored if Gaster just let Sans lead the dance the opposite direction. "I still meant what I said. You need to find another solution to your problems that doesn't end with you crying yourself to sleep."

Now that the initial anger had passed, Sans could see a bit better why Gaster wanted him to stop and find some other solution. He was just worried about him. He should have felt grateful that anyone would think about him as much as to try to get him to stop being so self-destructive. Gaster was only trying to help him. He nodded a little. "Okay." He said quietly. "I'll try to stop." He wouldn't promise anything. He'd never been one to make promises. Felt that some promises were impossible to keep. He didn't really mind if other people made promises, he just always made it clear that he wouldn't think less of anyone if they were in a situation where keeping promises was impossible. He would still, however hard, try to stop for Gaster's sake. He was going to make an honest effort.

The two stood in awkward silence for a moment. "I think I'm going to go to bed early. I'm a bit tired." Gaster said. 

"I could use some sleep, too." Sans said. "Arguing is tiring work."

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

He felt arms snake around his midsection as he stood at the stove, a chin soon rested on his shoulder. "Good morning to you, too." Sans said, flipping a pancake. 

"I don't wanna work..." Gaster whined. 

"Good thing it's Sunday, then." Sans replied. He walked a foot over to the coffee pot, Gaster still attached to him. He poured the hot black liquid into a mug. "Can you get the creamer and the sugar, please?"

"Yeah..." Gaster mumbled. Without moving, Gaster used his magic to conjure up some extra hands, which got the creamer and the sugar from the cabinet and set them on the counter.

"That's definitely one way to do it." Sans said. He thought to himself that if he had magic hands he'd never have to get up to get the remote ever again. Good thing Gaster was around. "Did you sleep well?"

"Eh." Gaster replied. He nuzzled his smaller partner. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too." Sans replied. He set the cup of coffee down on the counter, turning so he was facing Gaster. The scientist still had his arms wrapped around him. "I wanna try to have that other discussion again later tonight if you're okay with that?"

Gaster nodded a little. "We're both mature adults. It shouldn't be too hard to talk about it."

Sans' socks had baby ducks on them and Gaster had a pair of Superman boxers. They were far from mature adults.


	30. Chapter Twenty-Nine - Growth, In More Ways Than One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some babbling about character development, some discussing since the beginning of the book, others mentioning new changes.

It'd taken them at least an hour to get to a point where they were even comfortable with saying the word. Just like always, they were excellent at dancing around the topic for as long as they felt they needed to. There wasn't any real reason they should have been embarrassed about it, which was just proving to make them feel even more silly. They'd been together for almost nine months now. There wasn't any reason not to talk about it at this point. They knew each other well down to the strangest little detail that any other person would have missed, slept in the same bed, and even got dressed in front of each other with very little awkwardness. So, why was the topic of sex so weird? 

Sans supposed it was because he didn't know where to really start. They both didn't really know what they were doing when it came to this kind of stuff, and even more so Gaster, since Sans had spent a fair enough time growing up seeing how it worked on his crappy phone screen long after Papyrus had gone to bed (which he admitted to lying about not watching that kind of stuff). It was awkward to even try to ask Gaster if he wanted to watch something like that when most people just figured it out as they went along. First times were always awkward, right? Especially for awkward people. It was inevitable. 

Gaster cleared his throat, wondering to himself if he could ever live down this conversation. "Can I ask you something?" He asked Sans. 

"Uh, yeah. Of course." Sans replied. 

"When do you wanna... Try?" He looked like he immediately regretted asking that, and he did, but it was too late now. 

Sans' eyes darted around the room awkwardly. "I'm not sure...? I mean, whenever you wanna? I'm chill with whatever." He tried his best to arrest that laid-back attitude that he'd been known for, tried his best to act like it wasn't a big deal even though it was. It  _was_  a big deal. Before Sans had started working in the lab, he'd been convinced his first time was going to be some drunk hookup that he'd eventually forget about. Gaster hadn't ever even thought he was going to get even that since he'd been basically married to his job. Now there was someone to actually have a first time with, and no matter what happened once they finally did gather the courage to go through with it, they weren't going to be able to forget it. 

Sans could tell Gaster knew that he wasn't actually that chill about it. He was just as nervous. He didn't mention it though, and Sans thanked the stars for small favors that Gaster let him pretend he wasn't nervous. It took a bit of the edge off. "I mean, what's the worst that could happen?" Gaster asked. 

Sans had to agree with that logic. Still, he sighed. "It's gonna be awkward..." He said.

"Oh, yeah, definitely." Gaster replied. "Guess we'll just have to be up to the challenge."

Both had decided that the longer after that conversation they waited, the less awkward it would probably be. There wasn't any rush, it wasn't like there was a limited window of time or something. They could take their time with this, it wasn't a necessity. What's the worst that could happen?

Research on the monster's soul revealed that their secondary trait had been determination. With the Determination Extractor almost entirely up and running, they decided it was going to be Alphys' job to do experiments with the determination. She was the next in line to be the Royal Scientist, after all. If Sans wanted the position after Gaster was done he would have to score better than Alphys on an exam and truthfully, Alphys was smarter than him. He didn't really want that kind of responsibility, anyways. Alphys addressed concerns about not being good enough, but Gaster had faith in her that she would do a good job if the need ever arisen. She  _was_  his heir, whether she thought she was up to it or not. She was too brilliant to not carry on Gaster's work when he stopped, for whatever reason. She already had so many wonderful ideas on what to do as soon as she got the DT machine up and running. 

Progress on The Void had been slow and steady. An annoying fact about the machine was that it needed to run on a full tank of gas, which meant refilling it every time they tested it. Otherwise, the test subjects- lab rats, since the machine still wasn't up to protocol to test it on a person- suffered some sort of neurological shock, and died. Gaster wasn't sure what would happen to people since rats and humans were very different. For all he knew, humans, with their resilient bodies and souls could withstand a round in The Void on a half empty gas tank, either from luck or just because they were so much stronger than rats, but of course, there wasn't any way of ethically testing this, which made Gaster annoyed. "I'm not so sure we should continue on with this project, Dings." Sans muttered. "I got a bad feeling about that thing."

Gaster waved him off dismissively. "As long as the tank is full, there shouldn't be any issues. There's nothing to worry about."

"I mean, I know it's not done, and all machines have their flaws..." Sans said. He made some sort of vague rolling motion with his wrist as he continued. "But, I just really don't think this is safe. Messing with memories is dangerous territory. Isn't there some sort of medical way to do this that's safer and more predictable...?"

The scientist shook his head. "We're already too far in now."

And that was the answer Sans received any other time he tried to put his two cents in, even when they were off duty and Sans expressed his concerns about something horrible happening to Gaster over dinner. Gaster continued to insist that it was too late now. They were months deep into this, and Gaster was about three or four years into this project. The scientist, though very emotionally reserved when it came to his work, seemed excited to have a machine and not a blueprint and a hope. Sans wasn't even really sure if he was ever going to get Gaster back to normal if this thing ended up failing on him. As unmotivated as he was to work on something so possibly dangerous, Sans just reminded himself that that just meant he had to work harder whenever he was working on the machine with Gaster. 

And then Gaster started working late into the evening hours, desperate to finish his machine. At first, Sans had thought nothing of it- maybe Gaster was finally taking what Sans had said into account, and was doing test after test to make sure that the machine was safe, or at the very least, trying to figure out what was wrong with it. But then he started noticing Gaster's behavior was becoming... Well, not at all like Gaster. The man depended on coffee more than ever now, and as much as Sans tried to get the older man to calm down, take his time, Gaster refused, as stubborn as a goddamn mule. Sans had eventually left it alone. The machine wasn't taking up all of Gaster's time. They still went on dates, and Gaster still climbed into bed next to Sans at least most nights of the week. 

Sans didn't have any clue why, but time seemed to be going faster. Papyrus' birthday had passed and then so did Gaster's in April. The scientist didn't seem to be thrilled to be the boring age of twenty-four, but then again there wasn't much to look forward to past eighteen. Papyrus was pretty thrilled to finally be a teenager, and of course, Undyne reminded him that she was still a year and a half older than him, so even in his older years, he'd always be her and Sans' baby brother. Papyrus, despite being a rowdy kid, had eventually accepted that as a fact of life. 

But boy, oh, boy, was he growing. He'd outgrown his shoes, his bed, his clothes. Sans might as well have bought Papyrus a new house to go with his new everything else. "You're killin' me, kid." Sans said, tone tired and exasperated. He was joking, of course, but some of it did kind of ring morbidly true. Papyrus remained blissfully ignorant and only giggled as he stood back to back with Sans as Gaster marked their heights on the kitchen doorway. 

"Looks like he's even outgrown you, Sans." The scientist said with a chuckle. "He grew an entire seven inches in the past year and a half. In a few months, he'll be taller than you."

Sans ran a hand down his face tiredly. "Joy of joys, my baby brother is gonna get mistaken for the older one."

"I'm probably always gonna be taller than both of you nerds." Undyne gloated. She stood at five foot, eight inches now and showed no sign of slowing down. 

Papyrus was too caught up in his own accomplishment, giggling. "I'm gonna be taller than Saaaaans, I'm gonna be taller than Saaaaans." And so he continued in a sing-song voice as he danced around the room with his teddy bear. 

"Oh, don't worry though, darling." Gaster said, putting a hand on Sans' back. Sans gave him a tired look. Gaster grinned. "You grew an inch. Well done."

Sans grinned deviously. "Ya know, there's just one thing I've always wanted to ask you."  
  
"Hm?" Gaster hummed.

"How's the weather up there?"

Needless to say, Sans slept on the couch that night. 

Alphys had been steadily improving over the months she'd been working at the lab, and she seemed a bit more comfortable there now than she had when she first started. She was more confident in her work than when she first started, which was great because, without that new confidence, she wouldn't have been able to start up the DT Extractor.

Sans and Gaster both followed the blonde into the deeper lab below. The True Lab, as Alphys called it since that's where most of the really important equipment was. The pair watched in awe as a bright, glowing red liquid was extracted from the light blue soul. Vial after vial of it was extracted, it was like there wasn't any limit of how much determination the soul could make, even now that the host's body was long gone. The soul was, of course, returned back to safety in its containment unit before being sent back to the King. 

"I'm doing, um, t-tests on how determination affects something that isn't living." Alphys explained. Golden flowers like the one in the King's castle were lined up in flowerpots. 

"Good work, Alphys."

"Hey, Al." Sans gently nudged her. "You're getting your degree soon, yeah?"

"Y-yes, actually, I'm graduating early." Alphys replied. 

"So, that means we're gonna have to start calling you Dr. Alphys, right?"

She waved her hands frantically, shaking her head. "N-n-no, no, no need. Don't put yourself through any kind of trouble like that for me, I'm n-not in it for the title. I don't really, um, deserve it."

"Nonsense." Gaster said. "You're doing the schooling, that means you're earning the title. You deserve it just as much as anyone else. And that," He said, pausing for effect, "is why your work is never short of outstanding."

Undyne had found some stupid, old game console and a few games to go with it at the dump, talking on and on as they all helped her fix it about this girl she met there. Gaster and Sans tried their best not to assume, but from the girl's description, it almost sounded like Undyne was talking about Alphys. "And, just... Wow, her eyes! I've never seen a shade of green like that before!"

"Undyne and mystery girl, sitting in a tree." Papyrus mocked. "Doing something they shouldn't be."

Sans' attention immediately darted over to his brother. "Who the hell taught that to you?" Papyrus pointed accusingly at Undyne.

"Gasp!" Undyne exclaimed, putting a hand to her chest. "Papyrus, that's low!"

"I don't like getting grounded." Papyrus replied truthfully. He went back to working on one of the game controllers as if he hadn't just stabbed his friend in the back. Sans and Gaster both gave each other a look as they individually decided how they were going to eventually tease the hardened teenage warrior about her obvious crush. 

As Sans settled into bed, he wondered if life could get any better than this. Dreams of the surface chased away his nightmares... For now. 


	31. Chapter Thirty - Electricity (Smut Chapter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NSFW WARNING Don't read this in the same room as your parents, they will lose faith in you if they see you're reading gay lemons on the internet. You've been warned.
> 
> After a long day at work, Sans and Gaster go home and, well... ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

In the moment that his back had been pressed against the wall quicker than he admittedly would have liked, Sans worked to undo Gaster's tie, letting it drop to the floor. Gaster was already working on unbuttoning Sans' shirt, the other's tie already having been abandoned by the front door to probably not get picked up until work on Monday. "Are you still sure you want to do this?" 

As if Gaster hadn't already asked the question about twelve other times today, and as if he hadn't already answered 'yes' the dozen other times he had been asked, Sans nodded again as Gaster continued disrobing him. "Yeah." He replied quietly. 

Either of them would have been lying if they said that there wasn't any pressure. Even that being said, there would have been pressure and underlying anxiety even if they'd waited longer. Not that they really had to wait longer at this point, they'd known each other for over a year now. Which, admittedly, it was weird to think that they'd known each other for an entire year. Gaster's hands still fumbled with Sans' shirt buttons in the barely lit room, the only source of light being a street lamp outside the window. It was just enough light to work with. Finally, after what felt like forever, the last button was undone and Gaster slipped the shirt off of his partner. 

Sans continued to fumble with buttons clumsily as Gaster's hands began to curiously wander. Truthfully, Sans felt uncomfortable being pressed against the wall like this, slender, bandaged hands roaming his skin, but then, he had a feeling that was one of the more inevitable feelings, similar to the awkwardness. It was best to just tough through the awkward, awkward discomfort, right? Besides, there was no actual reason for him to be so uncomfortable. After all, the only other person here was Gaster, and he trusted Gaster. 

He got the last button undone on Gaster's shirt and slipped his shirt off, too. Gaster's skin was covered in small scars and burn marks, though, none too serious. His arms held the most scars, though, at this point, those were well over two years old. Gaster worked on unbuttoning Sans' pants as he stared thoughtfully at the burn marks. He wondered what those were from, and if Gaster would even tell him if he asked? Right now wasn't the time, It could wait until tomorrow. Sans was finding it hard to focus on one thing, working on getting Gaster's jeans off as the older male did the same for Sans' pants. Sans wasn't even aware of how heavily he and Gaster were breathing until he took a moment to register it. His face was probably a few different shades of pink to match Gaster's flustered face. 

And then Gaster was pulling his pants down, and Sans couldn't help but swallow a lump forming in his throat. Even if he wanted to stop now, they were a little too deep into this now for it to not be extra awkward to ask to stop. They'd both seen and done too much. There was no direction but forward now. Gaster put his hands on Sans' waist, leaning forward. Sans closed his eyes as Gaster's lips brushed past his own for a moment, hesitant. The scientist continued, lips locking with Sans'. Gaster would be lying if he said that his heart wasn't practically beating out of his chest, his head dizzy with adrenaline and nerves. Sans made a small mewl into the kiss that he hadn't meant to let slip as he wrapped his arms around Gaster's neck. 

The scientist walked backward, leading Sans with him as he did. Gaster's movements were slow, certain as he guided them down to the bed. He hovered over Sans, knees on either side of the other's small frame. He pulled away from the kiss, both still breathing heavily. Gaster worked to undress himself the rest of the way as he peppered Sans' neck and collarbone with small kisses. It fully occurred to Sans that the only thing he was wearing at this point was boxers, the rest of his clothes abandoned on the bedroom floor on the other side of the room. As uncomfortable as he was sure this should have made him feel, the discomfort was starting to fade as he slowly got used to this. His grip on Gaster tightened, and it took all his willpower to not make a noise. He bit down on his bottom lip in an attempt to silence himself, but small noises still made their way past his mouth. "G-Gaster..."

Another thing he hadn't meant to let slip. Gaster stopped what he was doing as soon as he'd heard his name, looking up at Sans. Sans felt his face burn hotter at the new attention. It was hard to see the other in this dimly lit of a room, but Sans could still see the purple of his partner's eyes fixed on him. He swallowed again, though there wasn't anything for him to swallow but air and nervousness. "You can... Keep going..." He said quietly, the atmosphere awkward again. 

Gaster continued without a word, and Sans had a feeling that that was for the better if they wanted to keep any element of them being in complete control of the situation. This was, after all, their moment, and Sans and Gaster would both be damned if they were going to let anything ruin it. It was profound, Gaster found himself thinking, that this was either going to be one of the best nights of his life or one of the worst. For now, he focused solely on trying for the first variant.

The scientist finally had gotten his pants off, and now the only thing shielding them both was a pair of boxers. Sans had already known from solo experience that this was probably going to be the worst and the most embarrassing part, especially as Gaster kept paying attention to getting Sans hot and bothered, and so far, it was working. The scientist's hands were almost practiced at this sort of thing, and yet they had a clumsy feel. Gaster's movements were fluid, but they were also unsure, inexperienced as if he knew what to do, but his hands wouldn't work with him. Sans felt more warmth in his cheeks as Gaster continued to awkwardly prod and explore him. 

Deep breath in, deep breath out. Sans tried his hardest to relax. This was meant, after all, to be a good thing, not a bad thing. That being said, he couldn't help the bundle of nerves pooling in his stomach as his heartbeat continued to pick up in speed. Excitement, worry, embarrassment, and a few other emotions he couldn't quite name were swirling around in his head, his thoughts erratic. He was just  _laying_  here. He didn't know  _why_  that made him so anxious. Maybe because Gaster currently had more control than he did? Still, he tried to push the anxiety down, letting himself try to relax. Gaster was in control. That wasn't a bad thing. If anything, that was a good thing, right? The scientist might not have ever done anything like this, but he was smart. He probably understood, at least, what he was trying to achieve.

And, as it turned out, Gaster did know what he was trying to achieve. His movement became surer as he planted kisses on Sans' body again, and then the warmth wasn't just in Sans' cheeks. Gaster pulled away from his body, leaning up again and kissing Sans, almost as if trying to make things a bit easier. It was definitely easier to focus on relaxing, Sans thought to himself. He let himself melt into the kiss, focusing only on Gaster, and Gaster alone. The anxiety passed, even more, when Gaster slid his hands from Sans' waist to his hips in one slow, fluid motion. Breathe in, breathe out. Gaster was in control. Sans trusted him. His arms were still wrapped around the older male's neck, nails just barely digging into Gaster's skin. Gaster wasn't bothered by it at all, thank the stars. 

Gaster's thumbs hooked just under the hem of Sans' boxers and Sans had to push the anxiety down again as the scientist started pulling them down. The slight chill of the room that was always noticeable even when fully clothed was very obvious now, and Sans couldn't tell if the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck were standing on end from nerve, or because the cold air against his bare body didn't feel exactly very pleasant, even for someone used to the cold. Gaster pulled Sans' boxers off the rest of the way, and then he pulled his own off. Sans looked down for a moment, and then instantly regretted it, his face flushing deeper.

 _That_ was supposed to go _in_ him? There was absolutely  _no_  reason anyone's should be  _that big_. He was torn between being a ball of nerves, being jealous and being overwhelmed, so he chose to be all three. He bit down on his lip as he made eye contact with Gaster again, who was also flushed at least a few different shades of pink.  _Oh, stars, this is so nerve-wracking._

Gaster seemed to notice Sans' distress and leaned in closer again, seeming to go back to his method of planting kisses on Sans' body, but he trailed a bit lower this time... Specifically, he trailed from Sans' neck all the way down to his arm. Sans could barely see what Gaster was doing, but then it dawned on him as he watched Gaster trail kisses up his arm, which the scientist unhooked from around his neck to do so. Gaster was leaving little kisses on the scars on Sans' arms.

More skillfully than he should have been able, Gaster showered his partner's scars with attention as his hands worked to prop Sans' legs up on his shoulders.  _Right, that was meant to be a distraction,_ Sans thought. _And it's working._ Gaster let Sans wrap his arms back around his neck, figuring it might help to do with Sans' shot nerves, which it did. This was still really awkward, but maybe this was just one of those practice makes perfect things? Maybe?

Gaster, who had never up until this point done anything even remotely sexual, struggled for a moment to line himself up at Sans' hole. Sans, of course, couldn't really judge. Gaster wasn't wearing his glasses, and he was inexperienced on top of blindness. He got a pass. 

"Um... It might hurt...?" Gaster said though it sounded like more of a question. Which was understandable. He didn't really know anything about this kind of thing. 

Sans had a general idea, however, of how this was supposed to go (he might have borrowed a weird comic book from Alphys). "I can take it." Sans said. He failed to puff his chest out in fake bravado. 

"Are you sure?" Gaster asked one last time.

Sans nodded. "I'm sure." He said again. He braced himself. 

Gaster nodded in response, and Sans figured the scientist didn't have anything to say. Gaster worked to adjust himself, making sure he was lined up correctly with Sans' hole. He gave the shorter male a glance before awkwardly fixing his gaze to some point in the room that wasn't on Sans before slowly pushing himself in.

Sans gasped, pretty audibly, too. He bit down on his lip. Wow, that was strange. Wow, that hurt. Not quite as much as Alphys' comic book had said, but it did sting a little. "I'm okay." He said. Gaster had been giving him a concerned look and had opened his mouth as if he was about to ask if he was okay, so Sans just answered. 

Almost as if they wordlessly agreed, Gaster continued to move. For several seconds as Gaster moved in and out it still stung, and Sans found himself stifling small whines, but then it got a bit easier to tolerate, and then Sans found himself enjoying it. His grip tightened around Gaster's neck as the scientist started building up a rhythm, his whines turning into moans. Gaster himself was having a hard time keeping his own noises stifled, and soon his own noises of pleasure and heavy breathing mixed with Sans'. 

"Oh, st-stars..." Sans muttered out. His voice came out small and a bit pitchier than his usual deep voice, if only a bit. Gaster picked his speed up a little, spurred on by the sounds alone- and wow, he'd never thought  _sounds_ could be so exciting- Sans moaned a bit louder as he picked up his speed, and it took everything he had to  _not_ want to go faster. The faster he went, the sooner this would be over. The sooner it was over, the less he would have to remember.

Sans dug his nails into Gaster's skin again, still surprised at the lack of response he got from it, but it wasn't like he was complaining. He felt so tired, probably from his poor stamina, but he didn't exactly want this to be over yet. After all, they just started. He unwrapped his arms from around Gaster's neck, clumsily reaching until his fingers intertwined with Gaster's. Gaster stuttered with his movement for a while, looking to Sans and making eye contact for the first time since they started on this adventure since everything had been way too awkward to even want to make eye contact. He returned the gesture, holding Sans' hand back and giving a reassuring squeeze.

Sans looked so cute underneath him like that, sweating a bit, breathing heavily, small noises of pleasure escaping his vocal cords each time Gaster thrusted into him. "Fuck, Gaster,  _harder_...!" Sans normally would have been embarrassed by such an outburst, but he was too lost in pleasure to even care anymore. Gaster didn't seem to mind, either, since he listened to Sans' request, starting to pound into the smaller male a bit harder. His own and Sans' breathing as well became heavier as they both became more spent. The scientist leaned in to kiss Sans, which only proved to quiet him down a little as he continued to pound into him- stars, he hoped he wasn't hurting him too much- as the pressure began to get worse and worse- but in a good way. Like, a  _really good way_.

He pulled away from the kiss as his own movement became erratic and uneven. With a few more sporadic, desperate movements he felt himself come closer and closer to finishing. He wrapped a hand around Sans' cock, which proved to make the other embarrassed again as he began to lend the smaller male a hand. He thrusted into Sans a few more times before cumming, his body trembling a bit as he continued to help Sans reach his own climax, which happened barely even a moment after Gaster had finished. 

Gaster quickly caught his breath before gently pulling out of his smaller partner. He looked at Sans. Stars, Sans looked so tired, but he also looked completely lost in pleasure. His chest rose and fell with his breathing, eyes closed. "Are you okay...?" Gaster asked hesitantly. 

Sans opened one of his beautiful blue eyes, looking up at Gaster as he nodded. "Yeah..." He replied quietly. He panted a bit, still trying to catch his breath. "That was..."  
  
"Wow?" Gaster supplied. Sans laughed tiredly.

"Yeah, wow." He said. 

**_~~~~~~~~~~_ **

It'd taken Gaster a while to get from the bathroom back to their bedroom, and Sans had half fallen asleep by the time he felt Gaster kneel on the bed in front of him. "Hey, are you awake?"

Sans nodded tiredly, a bit more alert now. He yawned. "Yeah, I'm awake." He said. 

"I'm gonna clean you up, and then I'm gonna move you so I can flip the mattress, okay? Just let me do all the work." Gaster said. He got to work on getting the now cold and almost dried cum off of his partner with a warm, damp rag. He wiped it off of the more noticeable places where there was a mess before wiping the stuff off his stomach and chest. Then the scientist picked his partner up and gently held him for a few moments as his magic hands worked on flipping the mattress over to the other side. It still wasn't clean, covered in years and years of ketchup, blood and tear stains, but those were all old and already dry at this point. That side of the mattress hadn't been soiled with any kind of inappropriate bodily fluids yet. He laid Sans back down on the bed before going and looking for clean clothes for them both.

Sans sat up in bed, still obviously tired as he looked up to Gaster. The scientist turned back around, having picked out suitable clothes for bedtime, and noticed Sans sitting up. "Hey, so, uh..."

"Hm?" Gaster prompted. Sans didn't continue his thought, and after a moment, he decided to just get Sans dressed and to bed. He was tired, after all. He kneeled in front of the smaller male with a t-shirt in hand. Sans raised his arms over his head, and Gaster slipped the t-shirt onto him. The shirt belonged to Gaster, so it almost went down to Sans' knees. He handed Sans a clean pair of boxers and the smaller male put those on by himself as Gaster worked to get himself dressed. Sans laid down, and Gaster settled into bed next to him, pulling the blanket up over them. 

Sans snuggled into Gaster's chest as he yawned again. "I love you, Gast..."

Gaster wrapped his arms around Sans, kissing the top of his head. "I love you, too, Sans."

They both fell asleep pretty quickly.


	32. Chapter Thirty-One - Bravery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another soul towards freedom. One step closer to King Asgore freeing mankind. Meanwhile, Papyrus has some issues at school.

Bare feet against the cold hardwood floor, Gaster exited his and Sans' room and made his way towards the stairs, stopping at the top when he noticed movement in the living room. He put his glasses on and waited for his vision to focus. A familiar tuft of brown hair was visible. "Papyrus?"

Papyrus looked up at the scientist with an almost frightened look, but he smiled a moment later. "Oh, hi, Dr. Gaster." He forced a giggle.

The scientist started making his way down the stairs, brow raised. Papyrus stood like a deer in headlights. "Weren't you at Undyne's?"

"Oh, well, yeah." Papyrus fidgeted with his scarf. "But, I wanted to come home. So, I came home... About fifteen minutes ago."

"Aren't you supposed to have school today?" Gaster asked. Papyrus made a point to not look at him.

"I mean, I'm supposed to be, but I didn't really feel like going today..." He coughed into his elbow. "I feel a bit sick."

Gaster crossed his arms across his chest. "Papyrus, why aren't you in school?"

Papyrus still didn't look at Gaster. "Well, another monster fell into the Underground last night..." Oh? This was news to Gaster. "And the last time a monster fell into the Underground, all the kids at school were making fun of monsters and calling them dumb since they keep on falling down here and stuff, and then when I didn't join in, they made fun of me..." Papyrus nervously wrung his hands together. "So, I don't wanna go to school until the hype dies down."

Gaster dropped his arms down to his side, sighing a little. Right... Papyrus wasn't some rule-breaking, unruly teenager. He just didn't want to be rude to people for no reason, and he didn't want people to be rude to him for no reason. The scientist glanced briefly at his and Sans' bedroom door, then back to Papyrus, who only now decided to look at Gaster.  "Well, it's me and your brother's job to collect that soul. Do you know where it is?"

Papyrus nodded. "Box Road, right outside Snowdin. It's a ten-minute walk."

"Would you like to come with us to collect the soul, so you aren't here by yourself?"

Papyrus nodded a little. "You promise Sans won't get mad that I'm not at school?"

"I don't think your brother could get mad at you if he tried." Gaster answered. It was true, Sans was just way too generous and forgiving towards his brother. Normal siblings would have been at each other's throats all the time, but Sans and Papyrus? Gaster didn't think Sans would even be able to let his brother lose at something as simple as a board game. Sans would throw himself in front of a moving train for his brother, no doubt about it. 

"Oh, well... Okay." Papyrus smiled a little wider, seemingly a bit pleased to hear that he wasn't going to get in trouble. 

Gaster woke Sans, explained the situation in as few words as possible, and then the pair got dressed and Sans teleported them all to the lab to get a container. Sans and Papyrus stood outside the lab as Gaster grabbed the container, then when he came back out with the soul container, Sans teleported them all to the edge of Snowdin. They all walked towards Snowdin Forest since Box Road was between Snowdin and the forest. 

When they arrived, there were sentries guarding the soul, like last time. Only, there were fewer sentries guarding this time, which was probably because Sans and Gaster had been a bit too busy to get the memo that another monster had fallen. The sentries stood at attention when they noticed the Royal Scientist carrying a soul container. "Good morning, gentlemen." Gaster greeted. 

"Good morning, Dr. Gaster." The one sentry said. "Have you come here to gather the second soul?"

"Yes, that's precisely why I'm here." Gaster replied. The sentries moved to give Gaster space to work. 

Papyrus stared at the soul with a fixated awe, taking note of the color- orange, just like his own soul. He watched his brother's boyfriend scoop the abandoned soul up into the container and then close the lid on it nice and tight. The soul floated in the container, just like it had floated above the ground a moment ago. Gaster handed the container to Sans and then started talking to the sentries about stuff Papyrus didn't really understand. None of it sounded like standard English, and if it was English, it was big people words. Darn big people, always making stuff up so that they could have secret conversations without kids knowing. It was almost as bad as when Sans used to mutter to himself that he was sure it was time for someone to go to b-e-d. What were adults talking in secret about anyways, and who were these famed birds and bees Papyrus was sure he was supposed to have heard about now, like all the other kids his age?

Eventually, the sentries walked away. Gaster had dismissed them to their posts. "Alright, time to go home, then." Sans said. They started walking home.

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

Papyrus stomped the snow off his boots as soon as they'd walked in the door, unlike Sans and Gaster who just tracked snow and mud all over the room whenever they walked in. Papyrus would have sworn if he hadn't grown up with Sans that his older brother had been raised in a pig pen. Gaster was dialing someone on the phone faster than you could say 'toy boat' ten times fast. "Hello, Asgore?" Oh, he was talking to the King? Jeez, Dr. Gaster really was important. "Yes, another monster did fall right outside of Snowdin last night. We collected the soul." He was silent for another few moments, presumably as Asgore was talking. "Yes, I can get the soul to you within the next half an hour. Yes. Mmhm." Gaster spared Sans a look and a wink. "I'll see you soon, then, your Majesty. Yeah. Goodbye."

Gaster hung up the phone. "Need a shortcut?" Sans asked.

"Yes, please." Gaster said. Sans handed him the soul container and wrapped an arm around him. Papyrus blinked, and they were gone. After a few more moments, his brother was back. Sans looked at him.

Oh, no.

Sans sat on the floor in front of Papyrus. "Why are the kids at school making fun of you?"

Oh. He wasn't mad at him. Papyrus looked around the room. "Well, I think it's because I don't want monsters to get hurt..."

"What names do they call you?" Sans' tone was firm and serious. Papyrus hadn't seen him like this in a while. 

"Crybaby, loser..." Papyrus started listing the things he got called on a daily basis. "Wimp, nerd..."

"Anything else?"

"Um..." Papyrus looked down at the floor. He  _really_  didn't want to be having this kind of conversation with Sans. He muttered the last prominent name that people called him at school.

"I didn't hear you. Repeat that a bit louder, please, bro?" Sans' tone was back to concern in almost an instant. Papyrus wasn't the kid he was mad at. It was all the kids at school he was mad at. 

"Faggot..." Papyrus muttered loud enough to hear. Sans looked absolutely livid. He pulled his phone out. "Who are you calling...?" Papyrus asked.

"The school." Sans answered.

When Gaster finally got home, he opened the door, expecting to see Sans on the couch and Papyrus sitting on the floor, playing with his action figures. Instead, Papyrus was sat on the couch, and Sans was pacing back and forth in the kitchen, phone up to his ear, an angry expression on his face. Gaster closed the door and looked to Papyrus. "What's got him all riled up?" Gaster asked quietly.

"Look, I don't care if you can't deal with the kids because I don't have any names. There's no reason I should send my brother to that building to get an education just for him to get called vulgar things by a bunch of middle schoolers." Guess that answered that. Sans was still pacing, and now he was dragging a hand down his face tiredly. "Why not just punish them all until the bullies step forward? Take away recess, or something, I don't know."

Gaster sat on the couch next to Papyrus, who seemed to be trying to make himself smaller. He looked like he wanted to disappear altogether. "How long has he been on the phone?"

"Basically since you left..." Papyrus replied quietly. "He screamed a few times already."

Huh. Sans wasn't the type to scream when he was angry. He usually tried to make puns or fake smiles to cover up his anger or made some bullshit excuse to leave the room. Sans slammed a hand down on the kitchen counter. "There's absolutely no reason you shouldn't be able to do something about this! My brother isn't going back to school until you get this situation under control, and that's that. There's no reason kids should be afraid to go to school. Schools should be one of the safest places on Earth for a kid." And then he hung the phone up, slamming the device down on the kitchen counter. 

Sans looked stressed to hell and back. His hair was already a mess again, even though he'd brushed it before they left to collect the soul, and he was screaming at people over the phone. Sans looked into the living room to notice Gaster was home. "Bad day, love?" The scientist asked.

"Hypothetically speaking, let's say you had a younger brother." Sans said. "And let's say this brother of yours was a good kid. Tried his hardest in all his classes, wasn't mean to anyone, was always polite and helpful and respectful."

"Sans, come on..." Papyrus sounded embarrassed. 

"And then he gets called names by the other kids who he's never done anything wrong to, just because he's nicer than the rest of them."

"I imagine I'd be pretty pissed off if that happened." Gaster said. Truth be told, he already wasn't a fan of the fact that kids were making fun of Papyrus. He might not have been his little brother, but in a way, he was still family. "Do you want me to try to talk to the school?"

"Yeah, that would be great." Sans said. "'Cuz I've already had it up to here with them." Sans raised a hand above his head to mark where he had it up to. 

"Hand me the phone? I don't have the school's number in mine." Gaster said. Sans handed the phone to him and sat on the other side of Papyrus, who took up the middle cushion of the couch. He dialed the number and put the phone up to his ear. 

"Hello, you've reached the front desk of Snowdin Town School." The secretary, or at least Gaster thought it was the secretary, said. 

"Hello, I'm calling to report a bullying issue." Gaster said.

"Can I get your name?" She asked.

Ahh, Gaster really didn't like giving his name out for stuff like this. Didn't like the attention. "Dr. W.D. Gaster." He answered her, anyway. 

"The Royal Scientist?" She asked. She sounded surprised. 

"Yes, that's correct." Gaster said. Stars, help him. "It's not important who I am. I wanted to call to address a bullying issue at your school."

She didn't linger on the topic of him being the Royal Scientist, thank the stars. "Oh, we actually just got a bully report." She said. Gaster could hear her typing on a keyboard. 

"That was my significant other." Gaster replied. "You told him that you couldn't do anything about it."

"Without names, there's nothing I can do." She said. 

"What if I get names?" Gaster asked.

"Then I can do something about it. But only if you can get names."

"Please hold on one moment." Gaster said. He put the phone on his shoulder and looked to Papyrus, who tried to shrink even further. "Papyrus, can you give me the names of the kids doing this?"

Papyrus fidgeted in his seat. "Basically the entire school, at this point... I don't know all their names."

Oh. He put the phone back to his ear. "He said it's almost the entire school. Do you think there's anything you can do with that information?"

"Possibly..." She muttered. "Though, it would have to wait until Monday, at this point. There's only an hour left of school today."

"That's fine. As long as it's dealt with so my partner's brother can go back to school."

"I made a note on my desk, I will inform the principal as soon as I can." She said. 

"Thank you." Gaster replied. "Have a nice weekend, ma'am."

"You, too, Dr."

Click. Gaster handed the phone back to Sans. "She's going to inform the principal on Monday, and they will address the issue then."

Sans huffed in annoyance. "If they don't solve it, I'm gonna call them and complain until they do."

Gaster looked at Papyrus "If they keep bullying you, be sure to come to me or your brother about it."

"I mean, it's not really a big deal..." Papyrus said. "But, thanks, anyways."

Sans stood from the couch, clicking his joints back into place. Gaster cringed at the sound. "I dunno about you two, but I need a shower and a nap." He said through half a yawn. 

"I'm gonna call Undyne and go back to her house for the weekend." Papyrus said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. 

"I'm gonna join you for that nap, Sans." Gaster said. 

"Make yourself comfortable, I'll be with you in ten minutes." Sans said. He walked up the stairs to the bathroom, and Papyrus started pulling his boots on to go back to Undyne's. Gaster went into their room, laid down, and waited for Sans to finish his shower. Today had been productive enough already, despite it being a day off. Going back to sleep couldn't hurt. 


	33. Chapter Thirty-Two - I Just Want To Forget

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster wakes up after having a really bad nightmare and he and Sans have a chat about some serious stuff. 
> 
> Trigger warning: Mention of child abuse, self-harm, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts. You've been warned.

_He was alone in every sense of the word, floating around in blackness, no one else around him as far as the eye could see. When he tried to yell for help, the words didn't come out. Felt his vocal cords working, felt his lips moving, but no sound. When he tried to run, he didn't get anywhere. He tried again to yell for help..._

_..._

_..._

_..._

_But nobody came._

He bolted upright in bed, eyes open wide and hands flying up to muffle a scream. He breathed through his nose, breath coming out erratic, wild, panicked. He tried his best to calm down, but that nightmare had felt more real than what nightmares were allowed to. He felt Sans stir next to him, and the smaller male was sitting up. "Hey, are you okay...?" Gaster would have slapped himself for being this worked up over a bad dream if he could even do something as easy as answer Sans' question in an understandable way. Instead, he was mumbling nonsense, his brain essentially silly putty from both fear and having just woken up. Sans wrapped his arms around Gaster, pulling him close. "Just take your time..."

Gaster hugged- or, maybe he clung- back. As much as he didn't want to seem needy, he also wanted to calm down so he could talk like a normal person, and that just wasn't happening right now. It became increasingly easier to calm down, however, with his chin rested on Sans' shoulder and with Sans rubbing circles on his back. 

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. It got to the point where he was just trying to match his breathing up with Sans' which proved to do some good because soon he was breathing in complete sync with the other and he'd calmed down. He took a shaky breath. "I had a bad dream." He said. His voice quivered a little, and he was still shaking too, but this was as in control as he figured he was going to get for a while. 

"What happened in the dream?" Sans asked. 

_Dark, darker, yet darker. He was consumed by darkness. The only things he could see were himself and the darkness as far as the eye could see._

Gaster gripped onto his hair, wanting to shake the image from his mind. He sighed. "I don't want to talk about it..." He said. "I just wanna..."

"Forget?" Sans asked. Gaster nodded. "I know how that feels." He forced out a humorless chuckle, which was then followed by silence. Awkward silence. "I guess we should, um... Do something? Or go back to bed. Either works." Sans said, trying to ease the tension. 

"I don't think I could get back to sleep if I tried." Gaster replied. "As far as something to do, I'm open to suggestions." That was Gaster's subtle way of telling Sans he needed a distraction. Sans seemed to catch on. 

"Uh, well... We could watch a movie, or go for a walk..." Sans trailed off. "You could teach me some more sign language, or we could just talk about random shit."

Gaster thought for a moment. "I wanted to be an astronaut when I was younger." He said. Okay, looks like he picked the 'talk about random shit' option. 

"You wanted to go into space?" Sans asked. Gaster nodded.

"Yeah. I was convinced my brothers and I were gonna break the barrier, and we were gonna grow up on the surface and I wanted to go to space."

"I... don't really know what I wanted to be." Sans said. "I don't think I even know now... I never had the time to think about that kind of stuff."

Gaster sighed. "I don't really like being the Royal Scientist if I'm honest. I mean, the job's gotten easier and more enjoyable with you and Alphys around, but I don't really want to be doing this anymore. There's too much obligation, and I was kinda roped into the job in the first place. That's why I'm training Alphys to take my place."

"I wouldn't wanna be the Royal Scientist either." Sans replied. "I guess if we ever get to the surface that I might wanna be a comedian...?"

"That would be a good job for you..." Gaster muttered. "Now monsters just have to fall down here quicker so we can get the hell out of here."

"I second that notion." Sans said. For a moment, the silence returned. "I mean, I'm a natural jokester, so comedian should be an easy job for me, but, y'know..."

And then more silence. Gaster closed his eyes and hugged Sans tighter. "When I visited my parents after they got locked up, I told my mother about you."

"Oh, what'd she have to say?" Sans asked, a bit of bite in his tone, obviously directed at his mother and not him. 

"Uh, well, she called me a 'fruit'." Gaster said. "Then I told her she was just jealous because her husband ratted her out to the Guard, and me and my boyfriend are in a very loving relationship, and then she told me that I wouldn't ever amount to anything, and that, even now, as the Royal Scientist, I'm going nowhere in life and I should probably just end it already, since she didn't get to end it because I was the one that got away."

"Ouch."

"And then I told her, and I quote, 'well, suck it, because you're in prison for life for two accounts of murder and three charges of child abuse, and I'm gonna get to go home tonight and sleep in my nice, comfy bed, I hope you rot'."

Sans laughed a little. "Damn, Dings."

Gaster smiled a little. "I got a bit unprofessionally mouthy that day. It was a hard week." He paused. "More accurately, it was a hard few years. I wasn't in the best place up here before we met." He tapped the side of his head with his finger. 

"Oh, um..." Sans shifted. "I wanted to ask... What are those burn scars on your body? I noticed them when we were..."

"Oh, those..." Gaster said. "Well, my last boyfriend had a nasty cigarette habit, and since I was around him so often I kind of picked it up for a little bit there, too...?" He said it more like a question. "I knew they were bad for me, but I was curious what the fuss was about, and then I just kind of kept going with it because I didn't really care if I ruined my lungs because I was convinced I was probably going to... Cut it short, at some point, anyway. I put them out on myself whenever there wasn't an ashtray nearby... And there aren't that many places down here that do have ashtrays. So..."

Sans didn't know whether to feel sick to his stomach just from the mention of cigarettes (they'd always gave him a headache and made him nauseous just from smelling them) or from the fact that it was clearly obvious that Gaster had been pretty suicidal before this. Emotionally reserved, lonely, bitter towards new people... That's what he'd been like when they met. It was all starting to make sense. Sans felt like he was getting the last few pieces in a five hundred piece jigsaw puzzle fit into place to reveal the larger picture every time Gaster told him stuff like this. "Oh." Sans said when he'd realized he hadn't said anything yet, and the silence had grown a bit too tense again. "Did you ever try to actually... End it?"

"Twice." Gaster answered. "The first time was a few years after my brothers died. Gerson was already kind of raising me at the time, and he stopped me. The second time was... Two years ago...?" He said. "It wasn't very long before we met. Only a few months. Maybe a little under a year." 

"So, what stopped you the second time...?" Sans asked. 

"I was scared..." Gaster answered. "I didn't want to die, but I didn't want to live, either. I stopped myself, I guess."

Stars, how had they gone from careers to this? Sans supposed it didn't matter how. The only thing that mattered now was keeping the ball rolling so he could keep learning more. When would the next time be that they would both be comfortable enough to share stuff like this? "I tried a few times... The first time, I climbed to the roof and tried to jump. All I did was break my leg. I was probably like... Thirteen? Fourteen? And then the second time was when I was fifteen. I purposefully brought myself down to low health while training the one day, but Papyrus used healing magic."

"Did you try again at any point?"

"I tried again when I was... Almost eighteen? So, around the same time as you, I guess." The math seemed right. Gaster had tried a few months before they met, and so did Sans. For all they knew, it was the same month, maybe even the same week. "That time, I tried to drink myself to death, but I passed out before I could even get to dangerous levels. I woke up with one hell of a hangover." He sighed. "And I didn't try again after that because I figured that was three strikes, and I'm obviously not good at killing myself, so what's the point in even trying?"

"Well, I'm glad you didn't succeed." Gaster said. "After all, who would I be hugging and talking to in a dark room if you'd succeeded?"

"Some other slob." Sans joked. "Someone like me, but, like... Talented, or better looking, or just better in general."

"That seems unlikely to me. After all, I stayed single for almost seven years because I didn't really find anyone good enough."

"And then you settled for me." Sans said. 

Gaster sighed. "I didn't  _settle_  for you. I actually enjoy your company and your wit. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here right now." He said.

"Well, you're stuck with me now."

"Good." Gaster said. "Being stuck with you doesn't sound bad at all."


	34. Chapter Thirty-Three - Completed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster has a lonely, but productive day at work.

Gaster sighed, setting his now empty coffee cup down on his desk as he did so. He'd already had three cups today, and it was only noon. He didn't intend to stop either until he passed out from his body being literally exhausted no matter how much caffeine he was trying to drown his tiredness with, or until he finished The Void.

It was so close to being done. Already safe enough to test on people, and so nearly almost finished. He swore he only needed twelve more productive hours on this damn thing. Which is why he was confused why he was wasting time, sitting at his desk laying waste to cup after cup of coffee just to continue sitting at his desk doing nothing. Perhaps, he thought, it was because the environment wasn't correct. The lab was empty, save for him. Sans had gone to Papyrus' school for some sort of event. Was it a play? A parent-teacher conference? Gaster was much too tired to remember the details. Alphys was at home, studying for her finals. She wouldn't be working for the next few weeks, not until she finished her exams and got her doctorate. 

He made another cup of coffee. It wasn't as good as when Sans made it...

Every small sound around him was just a reminder that he was all alone. The tap of his pen against his desk, the tick-tock of the clock hung on the wall. Every now and then, his phone would go off. He basically leaped out of his seat every time, digging the small device out of his pocket and checking his taskbar, his almost excited expression growing greyer and less excited each time until he was scowling every time he had to drag his phone out. No new messages. All of the notifications were emails. He didn't even check his email that often...

He looked at the time on the wall clock. 1:30 PM. Still nowhere near quitting time, and he still wasn't doing anything productive. He seemed to be in a funk he wouldn't get out of, no matter how hard he tried. Sans and Alphys weren't here. He shouldn't even be here. This hadn't been a problem until now but clearly, he was too reliant on Sans and Alphys being there that he couldn't even work when they weren't. He kept tapping his pen on the desk and doing nothing. This was going to annoy him...

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

When his cell phone had begun ringing, Gaster nearly fell out of his chair, digging his phone out of his lab coat pocket as quickly as he could. He read the caller ID and then picked up, putting the phone to his ear. "Well, hello, Mr. Legendary Fart Master."

He heard Sans laugh on the other end of the phone. He still couldn't get over how cute Sans' laugh was. Especially when he accidentally snorted, and then got all flustered about it, oooooh, stars. "Miss me?"

"Definitely." Gaster said before taking a sip from his fifth cup of coffee. "How was the thing at the school?"

"Oh, it was cool. Nothing major. Kinda boring and uneventful, but not horrible." Wow, Sans couldn't be any vaguer than that. Gaster thought to himself that he'd have to remember to ask what it exactly was that was going on at the school. "How's work?"

"Lonely and unproductive. I seem to have hit a wall." He was balancing a pen on his nose. Yes, he most definitely hit a wall. 

"So, you'll be coming home tonight when you've finished your shift?" Sans asked.

Gaster sighed. "I have to get  _something_  done. Even if it means staying overnight. The Void is almost done. I just need a few more hours."

"Don't overdo it, okay...?" Sans sounded genuinely worried. "You're eating, right?"

Gaster hadn't eaten since dinner last night, come to think of it. Sans hadn't made breakfast this morning, and he hadn't been too bothered to make a bowl of cereal. He hadn't eaten at lunchtime, either. Now it was 3:00 PM. "Yes, of course, Sans." He'd have to grab something from the fridge in the break room later to make sure he didn't make a liar out of himself. He had to fight back a yawn. Stars, he was so tired.

"Do you think you're gonna finish it tonight?" Sans asked.

"I should. That is the goal." Gaster said. "If I start working once we get off the phone, it should be finished by dinner time. I probably won't have to pull an all-nighter."

"You  _shouldn't_  pull an all-nighter." Sans replied. "Your body needs rest, Dings. You can't burn the candle at both ends."

Gaster was far too tired to even try to understand what Sans meant, and arguably, that probably meant he was too tired to do science. Or, at least, that's what Sans would say if he knew how tired Gaster was already. Sans didn't know Gaster had already stayed up last night.  "Yes, I know." He said. "But, really, I should be fine. There are only a few more things I need to do, and then it's done. Then we can test it in a few weeks when Alphys is back."

He heard Sans sigh. "Okay... Be careful, though. I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"I know, I know." Gaster said. 

"I wuv you."  _Oh, stars_ , why was it so adorable when he used babytalk? It'd become a habit ever since he'd asked Gaster to make him some  _eggies_.

"I love you, too, Sans."

"Uhhh, gotta go." Sans said. "I'm helping Pap and Undyne make a pillow fort. You might have to climb in the window tonight. I think the door is gonna get blocked."

"Worst comes to worst, I'll spend the night here. The couch in the breakroom is quite comfortable." Gaster replied, shrugging even though Sans couldn't see it. "It's not like I'm going anywhere."

"Are you gonna at least be home for the weekend?" Gaster could basically hear the pout on Sans' lips that was surely there. 

"Of course." Gaster replied. "I don't like working weekends, anyways."

"Okay..." Sans paused. "Really, though. Be careful. I want you home in one piece."

"I'll be home in one piece, don't you worry your little head." 

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Click. 

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

It took all of Gaster's strength and willpower to keep working. Of course, once he'd gotten into the rhythm of working, it stayed as such; a rhythm. A pattern. It repeated over and over. Use this tool here for this, use a tape measure for that, use a screwdriver here, and a monkey wrench over there. All day long. He was on cup number nine by the end of the day and calmly wondered to himself if too much coffee could kill you. Oh, well. Save those questions for when he got to the surface. They didn't matter now, and they wouldn't matter for a while because he was probably going to pass out of exhaustion every time before he could even drink a slightly lethal amount of caffeine. He didn't like how his heart was racing from over-exertion, and he didn't like how his head felt so blank, and how his eyes burned from being open for so long, but he pushed forward. By nearly midnight, the last screw was screwed into place, and he stepped back to look at his work. 

He'd finished The Void. His idea was no longer an idea. No longer something impossible to reach. He had a machine. a one hundred percent finished machine. He would have almost been happy if he was alert and awake enough to even process happiness, so for now he only dully noted that he was happy he'd finished it. The feeling was there, it as just watered down from fatigue. He was sure he'd feel the real deal after he got some sleep. 

Gaster grabbed an apple from the fridge in the breakroom and tossed and caught it in his hands a few times as he started his walk home. He took a bite. There, now Sans couldn't yell at him for not eating. When he got home, he entered through the door, only to find ninety percent of the living room taken up with blankets and pillows. Papyrus and Undyne lay among the mess, sleeping soundly, and further investigation led his eye to Sans, who was asleep on the couch with the remote still in his hand. The T.V. and the lights, all on. 

The scientist took his shoes and his coat off and carefully navigated his way around pillows and blankets on the floor. He gently took the remote from Sans and turned the television off as magic hands worked to turn the lights off. Carefully, he positioned himself on the couch to use Sans' lap as a pillow. Needless to say, he fell asleep almost as soon as he laid down. 

Sans awoke to next morning to the sound of screaming children. ~~Oh, he couldn't wait until Papyrus was eighteen so that he could continue to let his younger brother scream like a kid and not do anything about it because he loved him too much. But at least he was more likely to be screaming in his own house. Maybe. If Sans ever let him move out.~~ He looked down to find Gaster using his lap as a pillow, sound asleep. More accurately, soundly passed out. The bags under his partner's eyes seemed darker than they had when he'd last seen him (over twenty-four hours ago) and he looked like he basically collapsed asleep on him. He sighed, getting up and covering Gaster with one of the blankets on the floor and putting a few pillows under his head. Sans gave Gaster an overdue goodnight kiss on the forehead before going into the kitchen to make breakfast. 


	35. Chapter Thirty-Four - Houdini

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster does some cleaning up and then fucks up really bad.

The sound of a noise maker and one of those dumb confetti poppers sounded through the lab. "Congrats, Al!" Sans said, winking and nudging her with his elbow. "Or, should I say 'Dr. Alphys'?"

Alphys stammered an objection, and Sans kept insisting that she should accept the fact that she had a doctorate in robotics and engineering now. She was a certified scientist. "Honestly, Alphys, he isn't going to stop until you accept it." Gaster said. He took a sip from his coffee mug. 

"W-well... The test was r-really hard..."

"You are nothing short of amazing, Dr. Alphys. You're going to make a great Royal Scientist someday."

"So, wait. If she's back, does that mean we can test The Void?" Sans asked.

"Hm." Gaster hummed. "We might want to do one last test on one of the rats. Just to make sure."

"You finished it?" Alphys asked. 

"Yes, while you were away." Gaster replied. "I told Sans we'd test it when you came back."

"O-Oh, well, you really didn't have to wait for me like that. I mean, I'm probably gonna spend the rest of the workday d-down in the lower lab. I have to check on the flowers, after all."

Oh, that was right. Alphys was experimenting what determination did to a thing without a soul, and King Asgore had supplied flowers from his garden for the project since he had some personal interest in the project as well. "Well, we waited, anyways. There wasn't any rush." Gaster said. "If you feel the need, you may go tend to your duties." And just like that with those few simple words, the blonde had left to go to the lower lab and start her work for the day. Sans sat next to Gaster at his desk, idly tapping a pen on his desk.

"Now that The Void is done, what do we work on next?" He asked.

Gaster shrugged. "I suppose I could finally look into upgrading The Core like Alphys suggested. Some of that technology is already decades old and has new versions that didn't exist when it was first being built. I could add some safety rails, to make it easier to walk through."

"I've got an idea for a really big project if you wanna hear." Sans said. Gaster swiveled his office chair to face Sans, giving him his undivided attention. "Have you ever heard of the multiple universes theory?"

"Yes, I have. I'm a firm believer of that theory. I suppose you are, too." Gaster replied. Sans nodded.

"I wanna make something that can help us cross from dimension to dimension. Like a time traveling machine, but you travel more through space than time." Sans said. "Maybe even find a dimension where the barrier doesn't exist, so that if it takes too long to gather seven souls, we possibly have some alternative."

"I love the way you think." Gaster said. He dug some blank blueprints out of one of his desk drawers. "I think that idea is just crazy enough to work. We're gonna give it a shot."

As it turned out, time and space were very complicated, even for Sans and Gaster who both majored in quantum physics and astrology. If either had been on the surface, they could point in every direction in the sky and told you what was there, could name all the constellations, could name all the planets and their respective moons and satellites. It was just second nature to them. This, however, wasn't picking out groups of stars. This was trying to figure out how to make some sort of machine to cross from dimension to dimension, and that was even assuming the multiple worlds theory was even correct. Even if it was, it wasn't like they had any kind o formula to help them. It was definitely gonna prove to be difficult. 

It was currently four forty-five in the afternoon, with only fifteen minutes left in the day. Gaster had let Alphys go home early, saying that she deserved a break when she'd refused to tear herself away from her work for lunch. Gaster had insisted even as Alphys objected, and she eventually gave in. Now he and Sans were the only ones there, still trying to figure stuff out. "Alright, this isn't working." Sans said. "Let's take a break. Maybe we can test The Void one last time?"

Gaster set his glasses down on his desk and rubbed his eyes. They hurt from staring at so many numbers for so many hours. If he had to compare trying to think of stuff for this project and testing how The Void affected rats, he'd say the current project was somewhere above rocket science, and the testing on the rats was one of those dumb 'do this at home' science projects that kids in elementary school got for homework. That was how much more difficult this idea was. He slipped his glasses back on and glanced at the clock. "Yeah, I think a break from this would probably do some good."

_**~~~~~~~~~~** _

The machine worked still, which wasn't much of a surprise. Of course it worked. The brilliant Dr. Wingdings Aster Screen built it. Of course, even now that the thing was finished, Gaster had a mountain of paperwork to catch up on, so even as Sans left the lab for the day, Gaster stayed behind to catch up. The only sounds he could hear was the ticking of the clock and the faint sound of dripping. Probably from the sink. That thing was always dripping. 

As he finished the last bit of paperwork and went to leave the lab, he looked over to The Void. Well, shit. The dripping sound that he'd thought had been the sink had actually been the machine. It had leaked oil onto the floor in a slightly larger puddle than what he liked. Now he had to patch the hole in the fuel tank and clean up all the oil on the floor. This was going to take a while, huh? Sighing, he grabbed everything he would need to fix it, and got to work. 

Fixing it was actually easier than it sounded. All he had to do was locate the hole and then meld some metal over the hole. Almost like fixing a hole in a jacket or a blanket. The fuel tank was as good as new, and Gaster made note that when they tested it again tomorrow (on him, since it  _was_  up to protocol now), he'd need to fill the tank again. It wouldn't be that difficult. Now he just needed to clean this puddle of oil up... Ugh. This was gonna be the hard part. 

The scientist struggled but managed well enough to move the machine over a few inches so that he could see the entirety of the mess he had to clean. Where did the janitor keep those cleaning supplies...? It took a while, but eventually, he found the closet with all the cleaning supplies in it. Of course it took as long as it did to find it. Gaster usually left the cleaning to the janitor. The only flaw with doing that today was that she had the day off today, and he couldn't just leave the mess there. He'd need to use that side of the room for testing tomorrow. 

If he remembered correctly, oil spills were cleaned first by using something dry and absorbent to absorb the oil, and then the leftover residue needed to be cleaned with soap. Easy enough, right? He covered the floor with wood shavings (since he was pretty sure that's what the janitor would use if she were here right now). Okay, now he just needed to wait until the woodshavings absorbed the oil. He went back over to his desk and began on tomorrow's paperwork. May as well get this stuff out of the way. Wouldn't want to have the paperwork piling up again. 

He finished his and Sans' paperwork, being very careful to replicate his partner's handwriting to make sure it didn't look like Gaster had done it, and then he remembered about the oil spill on the floor. Right, he'd been working on paperwork for over an hour. Surely the mess would be easier to deal with now. He was right in thinking so. All he had to do was sweep up the wood shavings, and then all that was left to do after that was scrub the rest of the oil away with soap and water. Water and oil didn't mix, obviously, but at this point, it was more-so oil residue rather than actual oil. He was sure it'd be easy to clean it up the rest of the way.

That was where he was wrong. As he got to work on soaping the floor up, he seemed to forget how slippery soap and oil both were. He slipped, and fell back, hitting his head as he fell into the seat of The Void. The door closed behind him. A blind moment of panic rushed over him as he tried to catch his balance on the main console- the main controls. His elbow hit a button and the machine whirred. He grabbed his glasses and slid them onto his face before sitting up quickly and looking at the button he'd pressed. it was a big red button with white letters. 

ON

The machine got louder with every few moments. Gaster tried to open the door, but it was locked, and the lock was on the outside. In a blind panic, he weighed his options. He'd probably only have about thirty more seconds before the machine did, well, its job. And he was even more scared when he remembered that he didn't know what the machine did when the being in the machine didn't know what they wanted to forget. He kept pulling at the door handle and rammed himself into the door in an attempt to get it open. Nothing. Twenty-five seconds. He tried again. Nothing. Twenty seconds. His breath came out in short panicked intervals, and his head felt light and stung at the same time from how he'd hit his head on the way into the machine. He was vaguely aware of the place where the machine had cut his forehead, but that felt like a small problem in comparison to everything else at the current point in time. Maybe later he could worry about the concussion he might have from the tiny cut on his forehead, and-

_OH GOD THE FUEL TANK'S EMPTY_

His eyes darted around the dashboard. Of course the off button didn't work from the inside once it'd been turned on! The damn thing was still in test mode, that made the off button completely useless from the inside because the test subjects were rats who scurried around the inside of the machine! It would have been too convenient for Gaster to be able to turn this thing off before it did God knows what with no one else in the lab to do anything about it, right?! Ten seconds. His magic was stirring, and with the little bit o rational thought he had left, he wrapped himself in healing magic, as strong as he could. He worked on slowing his breathing. Being in a mind-numbing panic didn't seem like the best use of his five seconds still not possibly obliterated in who knows what kind of way. With only three seconds left, Gaster screwed his eyes shut and made sure his healing magic was going at its fullest force to try to cushion whatever blow this thing had. 

Three...

Two...

One... 

_**~_~_~_~_~** _

Sans felt a wave of something wash over him. He wasn't sure what, but it wasn't positive. What was the right word to describe this...? Oh, yeah. This was kinda close to what he was feeling when he met Asgore. Anxiety. It was gone almost as soon as it came, but then the next few seconds were spent with a reason to be scared, and that was why was he feeling that now? All he was doing was washing dishes (not that he wanted to be doing that, but someone had to). Papyrus looked into the room and to his brother when the dish he'd been holding slipped out of his hand and fell to the ground with a loud clatter- good thing the plates were plastic, not ceramic.  "Sans?"

"Yeah, bro?" Sans managed. 

"Are you okay?" Papyrus asked. 

"Yeah, I'm good, Pap." Sans lied. Another lie to sit on the pile of other lies he had and still would tell his brother. Papyrus seemed satisfied enough with that answer because he didn't say anything else. Sans finished up the dishes.


	36. Chapter Thirty-Five - Don't Forget

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget. Even if you can't remember what it was you didn't want to forget in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's gonna be one more part after this, and that's the epilogue! Please stick around for that.

_BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP._

Sans awoke to his six AM alarm, drowsily tapping on his phone screen a few times until the offending object shut up. He wondered for a moment why he even had a six AM alarm. 

 _Oh, yeah. Work._ Sometimes, he didn't even remember he had a job. It'd been a while since he had forgotten, but old habits die hard. He looked to the spot beside him in bed. Empty... Huh. Gaster must not have come home last night.

_**~~~~~** _

The lab had been wide open. That was the first weird thing. Whenever Gaster was here all by himself, he locked the doors. Not for any paranoid type of reason- who would raid a scientific research facility, and if they did, why? It was just a force of habit. He'd basically lived on the principle of keeping doors locked since he was a child. There wasn't any reason Gaster should have left this door open, and that occurred to Sans basically as soon as he set foot in the building. "Gaster?" He called out, his voice echoing in the lab. No response. And that was when something caught his eye. The machine on the other side of the room that had its door blown off, evidenced by the fact the rest of the machine was in a state of having been blown up not too long ago. Sans' eyes widened.  _Oh, that wasn't good_.

He walked over to the machine, looking into the seat. Nothing there... Okay, so Gaster hadn't been in this thing when it blew up, right? If he had been, there would have been fried pieces of tall nerd all over the lab. Gaster wasn't here, so he hadn't blown up. So, then, if Gaster wasn't in the obliterated machine, where was he? This was the more alarming part. Even better question, where was Alphys? She was usually here before he was. This wasn't right. None of this was right at all. 

Gathering what was left of his nerve now that he'd confirmed Gaster hadn't been blown to smithereens, Sans pulled his phone out of his pocket. He furrowed his eyebrows and frowned when he noticed that Gaster's contact name had changed. 

**E̶̠̠R̢̧͍̤͙̳̻̩̙R̷̲O̙͕̦̺ͅŖ̖̠͢ ̶̻̜͜4̨҉͎̮͉0̸͙̗̤̣̘4̧̬̣̳**

Weird... Couldn't hurt to call, right...? He clicked the green phone button and put the device up to his ear. Straight to voicemail. "We're sorry but the number you have called does not exist. Please try again later."

He hung up. Well, that hadn't helped at all. What did that damn thing mean, the number didn't exist? That's the phone number Gaster had since before they'd even met. If the blown up machine and the unlocked lab doors were enough to worry Sans, that was that the last straw. Something was definitely wrong, and Sans had to figure out what. Damn the consequences should anyone ask what he was doing looking for a seven-foot-tall nerd instead of doing his job. Almost as fast as he'd gotten there, Sans left the lab again and started making his way home so he could think and regroup his thoughts. 

He paced back and forth in his living room as he kept trying to contact Gaster. Maybe the other had been scooped up and taken to the castle? Maybe King Asgore had seen how hard Gaster had worked himself and demanded he took a break. Yeah. That sounded reasonable enough. Sans called King Asgore. The phone rang for what seemed like forever. "C'mon, Fluffybuns..." Sans muttered. After five or six rings it went to voicemail. 

Okay, now it was probably time to panic. 

_**~~~~~** _

The Shop at the edge of Snowdin was one of the first buildings on the main road of the small town. The Shop was the first, and then right next to the Shop was the Inn, where people usually only stayed if they were walking through. Sans heard a bell jingle as he walked into the tiny establishment and the woman behind the counter seemed happy to see him. After all, it'd been a while since Sans had even been in the Shop. "Well, howdy stranger." The shop owner greeted happily. 

"Uh, hey." Sans greeted. He really hoped the shopkeeper wouldn't mind the fact that he didn't come in here to buy anything. Right now, he was on a search mission. "Have you seen Gaster? He didn't come home last night."

The shopkeeper looked at Sans with a confused look on her face. "Who?"

"Gaster." Sans said. "Guy I was in here with a few months ago? Tall, pale, the Royal Scientist?"

She just looked at him with more confusion. "I'm sorry, but we don't have a Royal Scientist at the moment, dear."

What...? "Yeah, we do..." Sans said. "He built the Core. He's been the Royal Scientist for almost eight years now."

The shopkeeper only shook her head. "I think you must be mistaken. We don't have a Royal Scientist."

Well, fuck. Not only was this more upsetting, but now he was embarrassing himself in public even though he knew she was wrong. How the hell did that even work? "Uh... That's all I needed. Sorry for taking up your time." Sans didn't know if the shopkeeper said anything back because he exited the store before he could really stick around for her reply. So, he'd gone in there for answers and came out with more questions. Lovely.

_**~~~~~** _

Several pairs of eyes were transfixed on the photo at the same time as sentries sat at tables and bartender alike studied the pretty recent polaroid picture Sans had of him and Gaster. The photo was more than slightly blurred over where Gaster's face had been, but then again that seemed to be true for every picture Sans had of him, which was one of those questions to add to the pile of ones that would probably never be answered. 

"Never seen him in my life." One of the sentries said as he took a drag off a cigarette. 

"Sorry, Sans, don't recognize him."

"How long's he been missing?"

"He wasn't at work this morning, and he didn't come home last night." Sans said. He was still really concerned as to why no one seemed to recognize Dr. W.D. Gaster, who was probably only below King Asgore as far as recognizability went. It wasn't like Gaster was hard to miss. He was seven feet tall. 

Grillby shrugged. "I've never seen him before. Sorry."

But he'd just been in here with Gaster last weekend...

"Right." Sans said. He put the blurred photo back in his pocket. "Thanks, anyways."

_**~~~~~** _

Sans would have been worried about burning holes in his floors from all the pacing he was doing if it weren't for the fact that it was already four in the afternoon, and he still hadn't found or been able to contact Gaster. He probably would have kept pacing, too, if the door hadn't swung open. His attention darted to the door immediately, cell phone pressed to his ear. "We're sorry, but the number you have called-"

He hung up before the message could end and shoved the phone in his pocket, and he almost felt mad at himself for being upset when the only person who walked through the door was Papyrus. "Hello, brother. Who were you on the phone with?" 

Of course Papyrus would ask. It was clearly obvious that Sans had called whoever and then was upset when they didn't pick up. That automatically made this important information to Papyrus. "Gaster. He wasn't at work, and he didn't come home last night. I'm starting to get worried..."

Papyrus tilted his head to the side. Oh. Oh, no. "Who's Gaster...?"

It had been confusing when the shopkeeper said it. It had been concerning when the mailman said it, considering he knew Gaster went out and got the mail straight from the mailman some mornings. It had been mind-numbingly panic-inducing when the sentries and Grillby had said it. When Papyrus said it, something in Sans broke. Papyrus kept staring at his older brother as the gears in his head were turning. No one remembered who Gaster was... Why...?

"Nevermind." Sans said. "It, uh. It doesn't matter."

It mattered. Oh, it mattered like hell. But, he didn't really want to try to explain to his brother that Gaster was his boyfriend and he disappeared out of nowhere and now no one but him remembered Gaster had ever even existed. So, Sans cut his losses and went with the best working answer that made it so that Papyrus wasn't seeing him bawling his eyes out over someone who apparently didn't even exist. Papyrus seemed satisfied with that answer. "Oh... Okay."

_**~~~~~ 3 days later ~~~~~** _

Another tear rolled down his face as his hands shook violently. He entered the familiar number quickly and then held the device up to his ear as he traced his finger over the place where the wooden necklace had once read 'Dings'. Now it was scratched out. 

_"We're sorry, but the number you have called does not exist. Please try again later."_

He pressed the red phone button, letting the device drop onto the floor next to him as he pulled his knees up to his chest. 

_**~~~~~** _

It'd taken days to even gather up the courage to start boxing Gaster's stuff up. After all, King Asgore wasn't even calling Sans to ask why he wasn't at work, so maybe he didn't even have a job now. As depressing as that should have been, it felt like a small problem compared to the one that it had already almost been two weeks and Gaster hadn't shown back up, and no one even remembered him. 

Sweater after sweater, Sans folded Gaster's clothing, labeled the box and shoved them all into the back of his closet. There wasn't any point in keeping this stuff around and making himself more miserable than he already was. Something caught his eye as it fell to the ground. The Polaroid picture. He sighed. 

After everything had been packed and put away, only then did Sans pick the picture up off the floor. The ink where Gaster's face was was basically completely gone now and replaced with nothing but white. Apparently, Gaster had been doing bunny ears to him when they took the picture. He hadn't even noticed that until now... 

Sans grabbed a marker out of his desk. If everyone else had forgotten Gaster overnight, it was safe to assume that the universe could be even more of a dick and make him forget all about Gaster, right? That just didn't even seem right, honestly. His hands shaking, Sans hastily wrote himself a reminder on the white margin of the picture.  _'Don't Forget'_.


	37. ~Epilogue~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just the epilogue. Nothing fancy to read here. But it is the conclusion of the book, so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you all enjoyed the book. I worked pretty hard to get all that stuff written down. I'm not very good at finishing stuff when I start it, so I honestly thought this book was just gonna sit on my account for like months on end before I did anything with it again. 
> 
> The sequel to this story should be out soon, but I'm actually probably gonna go on a short hiatus once the first few chapters are written and published. The sequel is gonna be called I Know I'll Find You There, so make sure to keep an eye out for that if you wanna see how I'll bullshit my way into getting Sans and Gaster back together even though I probably shouldn't because there's another fanfic I started and never finished months ago. And I should write something for a different fandom. Oh, well.

Sans felt a rush of nostalgia as the airconditioning hit him and he heard his slippers against the tiled floor. The person he'd come here to see was currently standing in front of a table that had a mess of paperwork, dirty dishes, and books on it. "Hey, Al."

Saying that had been enough to spook her and make a mountain of papers fall off the table. Sans got to work on picking them back up. "O-Oh, Sans, you don't need to clean that up...!"

Sans shrugged. "I helped make the mess." He dumped as much of the mountain as he could back onto the table. That was messier than them being on the floor, honestly... It was the thought that counted. "Why'd you call me here?"

"I found this old file folder while d-doing some cleaning with your name on it." She said. She held an old, beat up looking file out to Sans. "I figured you should have it."

Sans reached for the file, and couldn't help but look at the scientist weird when she didn't let go of the file right away. He had to give another tug to get Alphys to release it. There was writing on the folder in sloppy handwriting.

_Sans Fontz  
4/7/11_

He opened the folder to find... His old job application, along with a mostly blank blueprint. He looked up to Alphys as he closed the file again. "Oh, uh, thanks." He said. "I was kind of wondering what happened to these papers." 

Alphys looked very conflicted, but neither she or Sans brought it up. "I'm glad I could get it back to you." She said. The room was silent now. 

The comedian looked at the current Royal Scientist. He wanted so badly to ask her a question he'd been putting off for years now. Hell, it'd been years since he'd even seen her. 

_Do you remember him?_

But, it seemed pointless. Even his younger brother, who had known Gaster basically as long as Sans had forgotten about him. There wasn't any point in asking Alphys if she remembered him. It wasn't likely, anyway. "I guess I'll be making my way home, then. Thanks for the papers."

As Sans turned to leave, Alphys finally said something. U-Um, wait, Sans."

Sans looked at her from over his shoulder. She wrung her hands together. "Yeah, Dr. Alphys?"

"I-If you... Ever need to talk to anyone about anything, you can talk to me." She said. 

Oh. Sans winked and put on a grin. "Nah, I'm okay. Just kinda tired. 'M probably gonna take a nap when I get home." He said.

"Oh, well... O-Okay..." Alphys replied. She walked Sans over to the door. "I guess I'll see you later, then, Sans..."

"Yeah... Later."

The walk home hadn't been very hard at all, considering he literally teleported to the edge of Snowdin and walked home from there. If Papyrus had seen that laziness, he would have chewed Sans' ears off about how he needed to do some actual exercise, and blah blah blah. It seemed, however, that when Sans got home that Papyrus must have been out patrolling for monsters. His brother had been a sentry since the day he'd turned fourteen, and so far they had six monster souls. All they needed was one more soul and then King Asgore would free them all from the Underground...

Sans sighed as he flipped through the three T.V. channels they got in the Underground. Things had to get better once they got to the surface... Right? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you all enjoyed the book. I worked pretty hard to get all that stuff written down. I'm not very good at finishing stuff when I start it, so I honestly thought this book was just gonna sit on my account for like months on end before I did anything with it again. 
> 
> The sequel to this story should be out soon, but I'm actually probably gonna go on a short hiatus once the first few chapters are written and published. The sequel is gonna be called I Know I'll Find You There, so make sure to keep an eye out for that if you wanna see how I'll bullshit my way into getting Sans and Gaster back together even though I probably shouldn't because there's another fanfic I started and never finished months ago. And I should write something for a different fandom. Oh, well.


	38. Heyo

so it's three thirty in the morning where i live cuz i drank like three cans of mtn dew and now i can't sleep

so guess what i did

i uploaded the first chapter of the rewrite of this book

ur welcome

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A HUMAN AU. Please refrain from commenting stuff like "They're skeletons they don't have *insert body part skeletons don't have here*". Yes. I'm well aware skeletons don't have that. This is a human AU. Anyone who was a human in Undertale (Frisk and the other fallen, Chara) is a monster and anyone who was a monster is a human. It's species swapped.
> 
> If you're curious as to Sans and Gaster's designs, I will leave a link to where you can find a post with their designs. Thanks for reading!
> 
> \- Felix  
> https://crimsonfantrash.tumblr.com/post/162170174090/i-doodled-my-human-sans-and-gaster-designs-for


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